Kendrys Morales’ rehabilitation from broken ankle hits another snag

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Some days, Kendrys Morales runs in a straight line, some days he runs curves, but the Angels first baseman has run neither at full speed, preventing him from clearing a major hurdle in his rehabilitation from a broken left ankle that has sidelined him for almost a full year.

‘His progress has been slow,’ Manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged before Monday night’s game against the Oakland Athletics. ‘He’s having problems getting full explosion when he runs.’

After Morales is able to run the bases full speed, he will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment of about 10-15 games in length; Scioscia said Morales, who in 2009 hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in, should need 40-60 at-bats before he is ready to resume big-league play.

But Morales seems no closer to beginning a rehab assignment today than he did on April 12, when he resumed running for the first time since mid-March.

‘There are setbacks and plateaus’ in the recovery process, Scioscia said. ‘He’s due to break through a plateau.’

The Angels weathered Morales’ absence in the first three weeks of the season, winning 12 of their first 18 games, but the offense wilted in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox this past weekend, the Angels hitting .158 (21 for 133) in the series and getting outscored, 20-5.

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-- Mike DiGiovanna