The Angels are moving right-hander Julio Teheran to the bullpen after he struggled and posted a 12.38 ERA through his first three starts of the season, Angels manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday.

Teheran missed the start of the season after contracting COVID-19 in late June and has had trouble getting on track. He allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Dodgers on Sunday and would've been slated to start Friday. But lefty Andrew Heaney's start was pushed back from Thursday to Friday and the Angels announced after Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Giants that their starter for Thursday’s series finale would be José Suarez.

“We want to get him rocking and rolling again and get him back into the rotation,” Maddon said. “It's just obvious he's just not quite ready to do that. At the end of this road trip, we're going to be halfway through our season so it's not April, May, and under those circumstances you just work this thing entirely differently. But right now, under the circumstances, you're almost forced to try something different right now."

Teheran, 29, signed a one-year deal with the Angels after nine seasons with the Braves that included two All-Star appearances. He had a career 3.67 ERA in 1,360 innings coming into the season, including a 3.81 ERA in 174 2/3 innings last year.

But Maddon said Teheran’s command hasn’t been there and his pitches aren’t as crisp as they usually are. His velocity is only slightly down from last year, so the Angels are hopeful he can figure it out in the bullpen and then potentially return to the rotation. Maddon, though, said it could be tricky to find spots for him to stay stretched out.

"You'd have to look for the spot that more than likely would not be a good game,” Maddon said. “It's hard to get a good game that you're going to stretch somebody out that long. But even if it's two innings for things to get crisper. We'll know it from the side. Then you have to figure out a way to add pitches to him, and you have to be creative with that. So that would be something we have to think about next, but right now the most important thing is that we get him back throwing like he's capable."

Simmons nearing return

Shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who has been on the injured list since July 28 with a left ankle sprain, made the trip to San Francisco and worked out on the field prior to Wednesday’s game. Simmons could be activated as soon as Thursday, or they could wait until their series in Oakland that begins on Friday.

"He's doing really well," Maddon said. "We're getting closer. He needs a good day today and not have any kind of a setback in any way. He should be right on the verge."

Simmons still has some soreness in his ankle while playing defense and making cuts while running but it’s something he’ll have to play through. It’s improved over the last week, however, and it’s getting to the point where Simmons is almost ready to play.

“Just has to be a manageable soreness,” Maddon said. “For all the ankle sprainers of the world, they don’t just get better overnight. The only thing that really helps an ankle is total rest. You would need an offseason to really get up in the morning and not feel it. So we're just going to have to be able to manage it all the way through, but it has to be manageable so you go out there and you can actually maneuver.”