Thew news gets worse for Los Angeles.  The Angels lost Chone Figgins after just one game after being activated, and may require another trip to the DL. Shortstop Eric Aybar, who had taken control of the shortstop position, injured his right pinky diving for a groundball in the first inning against Toronto on Tuesday. He may require a trip to the DL.

There he would join fellow infielder Howie Kendrick who has been out for over a month with a strained hamstring. Kendrick has frustrated the Angels and fantasy owners with his inability to stay healthy. The team is now taking a cautious approach with him to make he can stay on the field when he comes back. Regarded as a potential future batting champ, Kendrick was batting .500 in 36 at-bats this season before getting hurt.

Without both Aybar and Kendrick in the lineup, Maicer Izturis will likely be taking over at short for the forseeable future. Izturis himself had a stint on the disabled list recently with back spasms. Figgins likely will spend much time at second base as well as third base with Sean Rodriguez and Robb Quinlain filling in as well. Defensively, there should be little difference who plays where, but there will be a severe dropoff offensively both for the Angels and for fantasy owners. Kendrick, as I said before, is a very high average contact hitter while Aybar has shown good speed as well. Rodriguez is hitting just .184 in 38 at-bats at the major league level, and Izturis is a career .268 hitter and just .216 this season. The Angels should be one of the best teams in the American League this season and a legitimate World Series contender, but they will not fulfill that potential without a return to health for both Aybar and Kendrick.

The Angels hope to get Aybar back soon.