Angels injury updates: Simmons, Bedrosian

ANAHEIM -- Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is still feeling soreness in his sprained left ankle and will not return this weekend against the Dodgers, manager Joe Maddon said Friday.

Maddon expressed some optimism on Wednesday that Simmons could be activated from the injured list at some point this weekend. But Simmons still feels it when he makes sharp cuts while running and isn’t quite ready to return, despite playing in a game in Long Beach on Tuesday. Simmons has been out since July 27.

"He's still a little bit sore,” Maddon said. “That's why he's not available yet. We were hoping that it would be not as sore right now. The word is sore. We just have to deal with that. Just pushed it back a little bit further. I don't think he'll be ready this weekend. So we'll see how it works into next week. But he's still sore, which you would expect from the injury that he had."

With Simmons still out, David Fletcher remains the regular at shortstop. But when Simmons returns, the Angels will move Fletcher all over the field to make sure his bat is in the lineup. Maddon has reiterated that Fletcher is an everyday player, but they’ll have to get creative with their defensive configurations.

Bedrosian making progress
Reliever Cam Bedrosian, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 3 with a right adductor strain, has started his throwing program. He played catch before Friday’s game and will continue to build up his arm strength before returning to the mound.

"He's getting better,” Maddon said. “There's no finish line with him, either, but he's making progress."

Robles settling in
Reliever Hansel Robles struggled early in the year, allowing multiple runs in three of his first four outings, enough for him to be removed from his role as closer. But Robles has turned it around with four straight scoreless appearances, including seven strikeouts over his last three innings. His velocity was in the mid-to-low 90s in his first few appearances but was back up at 97 mph on Wednesday.

Robles said his velocity was lower because of the shortened Summer Camp and that he was used to the crowd bringing him extra energy in his former role as closer.

"I feel more comfortable now," Robles said through an interpreter. "At first, it was a little weird without fans. The adrenaline wasn't really there. But I've been slowing adjusting to that."

Maddon said he’s sticking with a closer-by-committee approach, with Ty Buttrey getting the majority of save chances, but Robles is working his way back into the mix.

“We’ll keep trying to get him back into even tighter situations,” Maddon said. “The stuff seems to be trending in an upward way, so I’ll just try to pick the right spot for him and keep moving him back toward the end.”