TEMPE, Ariz. -- Alex Meyer won't be in the mix to crack the Angels' Opening Day rotation this spring after undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his right shoulder in September, but he still hopes to factor into the club's pitching plans later this season.
"I would love to pitch this year at some point," Meyer said Wednesday. "I don't know if it's realistic or not. I'd like to think that it is because I want to play, too. We'll see."
Meyer's procedure typically entails a 12-month recovery period, so any setbacks could prevent him from accomplishing his goal of returning to the Majors in 2018. Still, the 28-year-old said his rehab is currently on schedule based on the feedback he's received from team doctors.
"I'm close to getting ready to start throwing here hopefully in the next couple weeks, which is good; that's obviously the ultimate goal," Meyer said. "It's going well. I've never had surgery before, so I don't really know what to expect, but every time I've gone to see the doctor, everything is right on schedule where he thinks it should be. As far as I know, everything is going well. It feels good, so nothing hurts."
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Meyer logged a 3.74 ERA over 13 starts for the Angels last season before landing on the disabled list with what was initially described as shoulder inflammation. Meyer, who had dealt with shoulder trouble in the past, received a cortisone injection and tried to rehab, but his condition didn't improve, prompting the Angels to recommend surgery.
"It definitely surprised me," Meyer said. "When the doctor finally said, 'Yeah, you need to have surgery,' that caught me off guard. I knew we were out of options at that point. It's unfortunate, but I'm glad it's fixed finally. I'm not going to have to worry about it anymore in regards to pitching for two months and then taking off for two months because it's hurting. It's fixed now. It's just going to take time to get back out there and get throwing again, but you hope you don't have to worry about it anymore."
Worth noting
The buzz around Shohei Ohtani has yielded new marketing opportunities for the Angels, who on Wednesday announced a partnership with Funai, a Japanese consumer electronics company. Funai will be the exclusive advertiser on the Angels' media backdrop this season, and it will also receive advertising on the home plate rotational sign at both Angel Stadium and Temple Diablo Stadium.