Ohtani stands in on BP but not cleared to swing

ANAHEIM -- Shohei Ohtani was spotted in the Angels' bullpen on Friday afternoon, though he was getting some work in at the plate, not on the mound.
Ohtani, who is on the disabled list with a Grade 2 strain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, stood in on right-hander Felix Peña's bullpen session to see some live pitching as he waits to see whether the stem-cell and platelet-rich plasma injections he received on June 7 will take hold in his injured elbow.
"The one thing I think you lose when you're not hitting and you sit down for a while is just the training of your eyes on velocity," manager Mike Scioscia said. "This helps him when he gets to a certain stage to be able to see the ball and just make it a little smoother transition when he's able to go out there and hit."
Ohtani has not yet been cleared to swing with both hands, but the left-handed hitter has been taking one-armed swings in the batting cages and running to maintain his leg strength. Scioscia said Ohtani is scheduled to be re-evaluated next Thursday.
"We're hoping for [no restrictions] as far as hitting, but we don't know," Scioscia said.
Given Ohtani's unique situation as a two-way player, it's possible Ohtani could return as a batter even if he's not yet ready to pitch. Before landing on the disabled list, Ohtani was hitting .289 with a .907 OPS and six home runs in 129 plate appearances for the Angels.

Skaggs' next start still TBA
Left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who was scratched from his scheduled start on Thursday with right hamstring tightness, will be evaluated after throwing a bullpen session on Saturday before the Angels determine when he'll slide back into the rotation. The Angels have not yet announced a starter for Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays, but Pena could pitch on normal rest if Skaggs needs more time to recover.
"We know he's definitely a step closer," Scioscia said. "He feels very good today. He threw long toss and feels good. We're not exactly sure where he's going to fold in. There's still some hurdles he needs to get over before we see exactly where he's going to fold in, but we'll get a lot more information after his 'pen tomorrow."
McGuire recalled, Paredes optioned
The Angels recalled right-hander Deck McGuire from Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned right-hander Eduardo Paredes on Friday. McGuire, 28, allowed six runs over 8 1/3 innings (6.48 ERA) in four outings for the Blue Jays this season before he was designated for assignment. After a brief stint in the Rangers' system, McGuire was designated for assignment for a second time and traded to the Angels in exchange for cash considerations on Tuesday.
"He's a fresh arm, for sure," Scioscia said. "We've run through our bullpen a lot. The guys are doing a terrific job like they did last night, and he'll be a fresh arm that can help us in whatever role comes up tonight."
Injury updates
• Right-hander Garrett Richards (left hamstring strain) is inching closer to throwing off the mound and said he thinks he'll need to make a rehab start before returning from the disabled list.
"I'm just assuming," Richards said. "That's the way things have always gone. Obviously, we'll wait and see what they have planned. We're just going to go over some stuff for the next week or so and see where we're at."
• Outfielder Chris Young, who has not played since Tuesday because of hamstring injury, took batting practice on Friday and will be available off the bench against the Blue Jays, according to Scioscia.