Trout: 'The plan is to play on Friday'

ANAHEIM -- The Angels were hopeful Mike Trout would return at some point during their three-game series against the Indians, but he was held out of the lineup yet again in the series finale on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s off-day.

Trout, out for a fourth straight game with a nerve issue in his right foot, underwent a procedure to relieve the problem on Monday. He’s yet to start baseball activities since the procedure, so the Angels decided to play it safe and hold Trout out of the lineup on Wednesday.

“The plan is to play on Friday,” Trout said. “But I won't really know the plan until I do baseball activities. I was thinking about trying to test it today, but we have an off-day tomorrow. So, I'll come in Friday, do some stuff and we'll go from there.”

Trout, aiming to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award for a third time, said he’s hopeful that he won’t be bothered by pain in his foot like he was before the procedure, which essentially deadened tissue around the nerve. Cutting laterally seemed to irritate the nerve the most and once it became irritated, it became hard to calm down. So, if he can get through baseball activities with no pain early Friday, he should be in the lineup for their three-game series against the Rays.

“If it doesn't flare up, I'll be good to go,” Trout said.

Trout, though, could return as a designated hitter before he’s ready to see action in center field. Angels manager Brad Ausmus said they’re still working that out, but he was happy to hear Trout was feeling better.

"He felt good today,” Ausmus said. “We’re going to hold him out one more day because of the off-day tomorrow and just give him another 48 hours of rest. And hopefully, he’s in there on Friday. We’re going to leave it alone, let it rest and have as much of the inflammation go down as possible."

Bedrosian shut down

Reliever Cam Bedrosian, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 29 with a right forearm strain, will be shut down for the rest of the season, Ausmus said. Bedrosian was scheduled to throw two bullpen sessions this week in an attempt to return as soon as this weekend, but he was still feeling soreness when throwing off flat ground.

Bedrosian, though, isn’t expected to need offseason surgery, as the injury is expected to heal with rest.

“This is just taking the cautious approach to make sure that he's fully recovered rather than rushing him back,” Ausmus said.

Bedrosian, 27, posted a 3.23 ERA with 64 strikeouts, 22 walks and seven homers allowed in 61 1/3 innings this season.

Upton undergoes MRI

Left fielder Justin Upton felt soreness in his right knee after Tuesday’s 8-0 loss to the Indians and had an MRI exam on Wednesday. The Angels won’t know the severity of the injury until Thursday, but with Upton out, Taylor Ward started in left field for the firsst time in his career against Cleveland on Wednesday.

Upton dealt with a right knee injury that limited him early in Spring Training but hadn’t had any issues with his knee since, Ausmus said.

"I just found out about it yesterday, last night after the game was over,” Ausmus said. “It was the same knee, but can't say [if it’s the same injury] until we get filled in from the docs."

Angels remember Sept. 11 victims

The Angels held a special pregame ceremony to honor the victims and families impacted by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. They showed a video produced by Major League Baseball titled, “We Shall Not Forget,” on the video board and held a moment of silence. The Orange County Fire Color Guard also helped an unfurl an American flag across the infield before the national anthem. Staff Sergeant Will Dougherty threw out the honorary first pitch.

Ausmus was playing with the Astros at the time and remembers getting woken up by his sister-in-law that morning and turning on the TV to see what had transpired. The Astros were scheduled to play the Giants that night in Houston, but games were cancelled until Sept. 18. The Astros played the Giants in San Francisco in the first game back, and he said he’ll always remember that game.

“The players from both teams surrounded the infield dirt and we all held candles in remembrance of all the lives lost,” Ausmus said. “I remember baseball being a big part of the healing process, really.”