Angels place four more on disabled list

OAKLAND (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels lost four more players to the disabled list Friday, putting the club’s total at a franchise-record 15 players on the DL at one time.

Infielder Zack Cozart went on the DL with a partially dislocated left shoulder, while righthander Jim Johnson has a lower back strain; righthander Garrett Richards is nursing a strained left hamstring; and righthander Nick Tropeano has inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

Meanwhile, Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani is taking some one-handed swings as the Angels wait out his sprained elbow to be re-evaluated in a few weeks.

The timeline for Richards, plagued by injuries the past two seasons that limited him to 12 total starts over 2016 and ‘17, to return is unclear, though manager Mike Scioscia said the injury is considered mild. “Hamstrings,” he said, “they’re a different animal.”

Richards left his Wednesday start at Seattle after two innings with tightness in the hamstring, then Cozart went down the next inning diving for a ball and irritated the shoulder. He has played with the injury before, but his shoulder needs to calm down.

With Richards, the Angels won’t take any chances.

“Unfortunately right now we’ve got to take a little half-step back and let it heal,” Scioscia said before his team opened a weekend series at Oakland. “It was definitely affecting how he was trying to execute pitches the other day. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s not going to be an extended injury.”