27-year old switch hitting 1B Kendry Morales will have surgery later today to repair a broken left leg. His leg was snapped in a celebration after he hit a walkoff grand slam to beat the Mariners 5-1 in 10 innings. This is a major blow to the Angels as Morales is quite frankly the best player on the team. He has played in 51 games for the Angels this season and he is 56 of 193 (.290 avg, .833 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 11 homers and 39 RBIs. This will definitely hurt any chance the Angels had of going back to the playoffs in 2010 as Morales will miss at least 10-12 weeks and maybe the rest of the year.

26-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Kazmir just doesn’t have it right now. He has started 9 games for the Angels this year and he is 3-5 with a 6.34 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Kazmir has been getting hit hard this year as he has given up 55 hits (8 homers) in only 49 2/3 innings this season. He has walked 24 batters this season while only striking out 34. The strikeouts are a big concern as Kazmir is just not missing as many bats as usual. I wonder if he’s hurting right now and just hasn’t told anyone.

The Angels have placed 25-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Wood on the 15-day disabled list with a hip flexor strain. Wood has played in 39 games for the Angels this season and he is 19 of 122 (.156 avg, .381 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Wood has looked completely overmatched this season at the major league level as he has whiffed 36 times while only walking 2 times. He is out of options so the end of his career with the Angels could be near. The Angels have activated 29-year old switch hitting Maicer Izturis from the D.L. and he is the starting 3B tonight. He has played in 14 games for the Angels this year and he is 10 of 39 (.256 avg, .695 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Izturis will likely give the Angels vastly improved play both offensively and defensively at 3B.

Even with Maicer Izturis coming off the D.L. soon I think the Angels need to make a big play for a legit power hitting 3B. The Astros (Pedro Feliz), Indians (Jhonny Peralta) and the Orioles (Miguel Tejada) all have 3B who would be a huge upgrade for the Angels. The Astros would probably be willing to accept a trade in which they parted with Pedro Feliz, Chris Sampson and Jason Michaels for Bobby Cassevah, Trevor Bell, Bobby Wilson and Brandon Wood. The Indians would without a doubt take Brandon Wood and Trevor Bell back for Peralta. The Orioles would probably toss in Mark Hendrickson along with Miguel Tejada for Brandon Wood, Bobby Wilson, Trevor Bell, Bobby Cassevah and Terry Evans. I think the best deal out of this bunch would be the one with the Indians for Peralta.

29-year old switch hitting 2B/SS/3B Maicer Izturis is almost ready to return to action for the Angels and they can’t wait. Izturis has played in 14 games for the Angels this season and he is 10 of 39 (.256 avg, .695 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Izturis will likely get a chance right away to boot 25-year old righty swinging Brandon Wood off 3B. Wood has played in 37 games for the Angels this season and he is 19 of 117 (.162 avg, .397 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Wood has only walked 2 times this season while whiffing 35 as he shows a utter lack of discipline at the plate.