When Angels pitcher Tommy Hanson was placed on the bereavement list Monday, it was guaranteed that he would miss at least one start. That’s because major-league rules dictate that any player on the bereavement list must miss at least three days and at most seven.
Today is Hanson’s third day on the bereavement list and rookie Michael Roth is starting for the Angels against the Texas Rangers.
Assuming the Angels’ other four starters take their normal turn in the rotation, Hanson’s spot would not come up again until next Monday in Oakland. Even if Hanson misses the maximum seven days, he’ll be back with the team by then.
However, it’s not guaranteed that Hanson would start the game.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia sounded Wednesday like he was prepared to give Hanson more than a week if the pitcher needed it.
“It’s been a very emotional week for Tommy,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “Naturally we’ll touch base, see where he is, when he’s going to join us, how he feels and slot him back in whenever there’s going to be room for him to pitch again. There’s going to be a lot of things we take into consideration for sure. First thing is Tommy taking care of where he needs to be right now. Hopefully he can get back emotionally to where he needs to be to pitch. We’ll evaluate where he is.”