Brandon Wood

TEMPE, Ariz. — This was not the career trajectory or the route into Tempe Diablo Stadium that Brandon Wood and the Angels had in mind a few years ago. A first-round pick in 2003, rated by Baseball America as the game's third-best prospect in 2006, Wood was handed the Angels' third base job coming out of spring training in 2010 and fumbled it away amid a flurry of strikeouts, popups and weak grounders. Wood was released last April, claimed by Pittsburgh and released after hitting .220 in 99 games for the Pirates.

The Cincinnati Reds called the Angels on Tuesday afternoon and told them pitcher Bronson Arroyo wanted to hit Wednesday, eliminating the designated hitter from an exhibition game against the Angels in Goodyear Ballpark. That took three or four at-bats in a major league game away from Angels slugger Kendrys Morales, who was planning to DH against the Reds, but it was probably for the best. After collecting two hits in four at-bats of a triple-A game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, Morales, who is poised to return this season after missing almost two years because of a broken left ankle, said through a translator that he was "tired, I need a day off. " He will not play in a minor league game.

They were peers entering the 2006 season, up-and-coming stars as so dubbed by Baseball America in its annual ranking of the game's top 100 prospects. Outfielder Delmon Young was No. 1 on that list; now 23, he started for Tampa Bay in 2007 and Minnesota in 2008. Outfielder Justin Upton was No. 2; he cracked Arizona's starting lineup last season at age 21. Outfielder Jeremy Hermida was No. 4; he is beginning his third season as a starter at Florida. Stephen Drew was No.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Alexi Amarista continued to build his case for a utility job Tuesday, breaking  a tie with a three-run double to right field in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Angels to a 5-3 exhibition victory over the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale Stadium. Amarista's versatility and speed make him an attractive bench option, as he can play all three outfield positions and three infield positions. His hit off Giants reliever Javier Lopez improved his spring average to .349 and moved him into a tie for the team lead with 13 runs batted in. "He's had an incredible spring," Manager Mike Scioscia said.

In Brandon Wood the Angels trust … for now. That will change in the very near future if the struggling third baseman doesn't emerge from a season-opening slump in which he's batting .087 with four singles and 15 strikeouts in 46 at-bats. Wood was not in Friday night's lineup, but Mike Scioscia is not at the point where he will give him three or four days off to "clear his head," as the Angels' manager has done with slumping hitters. "That's an option we'll look at closely," Scioscia said of a possible extended bench stay for Wood, "but he's going to play Saturday, and we'll keep tracking him. … You can see the talent.

This was not the career trajectory or the route into Tempe Diablo Stadium that Brandon Wood and the Angels had in mind years ago. A first-round pick in 2003, rated by Baseball America as the game's third-best prospect in 2006, Wood was handed the Angels' third-base job coming out of spring training in 2010 and fumbled it away amid a flurry of strikeouts, pop-ups and weak grounders. Wood was released by the Angels last April, claimed by Pittsburgh and released after hitting .220 in 99 games.

Reporting from Chicago -- Brandon Wood's season-long struggles have reached the point that Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he had detected "some frustration start to mount" in the easygoing third baseman. "At times you see him really start to grit his teeth a little too much and squeeze the bat a little too tight," Scioscia said of Wood, who is hitting .162 with 35 strikeouts and only three extra-base hits in 117 at-bats. Any aggravation was confined to the dugout Thursday with Wood out of the starting lineup during the Angels' 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

Brandon Wood brought something extra with him to Southern California this weekend: a full complement of suits. He will need the fancy threads for all the traveling he'll be doing in his first season as the Angels' starting third baseman. The Angels hope Wood also packed the power that has long made him the organization's top prospect but has been notably absent at the major league level. "We're very, very confident in the fact that Brandon, when he gets into his game, is going to provide that," Manager Mike Scioscia said of the offensive punch the team seeks from the 25-year-old who has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Angels.

Reporting from Toronto — Third baseman Brandon Wood remained in the lineup Sunday despite his .088 batting average entering the game and errors on back-to-back plays that led to a pair of unearned runs in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Blue Jays. Wood had an infield single in four at-bats in the Angels' 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday, raising his average to .105, and he drove a fly ball to the wall in center field in the seventh inning. He fielded four ground balls cleanly.

Reporting from Scottsdale, Ariz. Brandon Wood has put himself in a decent position to make the team, but the way Angels Manager Mike Scioscia spoke of the infielder Sunday, his chances appear slim despite his seven-for-20 stretch with two home runs, a triple and a double in the last eight days. "He's put his best foot forward the last 20 at-bats," Scioscia said. "But there is a lot of competition for roster spots, and a lot of things are out of a player's control. " Wood, once considered one of baseball's top prospects, is trying to rebuild his career after batting .146 in 2010.

Jerome Williams will begin his long-awaited quest to win the Angels' fifth rotation spot Monday when the veteran right-hander, sidelined for more than three weeks because of a left hamstring strain, starts a triple-A game against the Oakland Athletics in Phoenix. Meanwhile, Williams' primary competition for the job, young right-hander Garrett Richards, will start the 1 p.m. major league game against the Colorado Rockies in Tempe Diablo Stadium. Richards, the organization's top pitching prospect, clearly has the edge--he is 3-0 with a 2.00 earned run average in three spring starts--but Manager Mike Scioscia said Williams still has time to win the job he earned late last season, when he went 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 10 games after an Aug. 17 promotion to the big leagues.

TEMPE, Ariz. — This was not the career trajectory or the route into Tempe Diablo Stadium that Brandon Wood and the Angels had in mind a few years ago. A first-round pick in 2003, rated by Baseball America as the game's third-best prospect in 2006, Wood was handed the Angels' third base job coming out of spring training in 2010 and fumbled it away amid a flurry of strikeouts, popups and weak grounders. Wood was released last April, claimed by Pittsburgh and released after hitting .220 in 99 games for the Pirates.

This was not the career trajectory or the route into Tempe Diablo Stadium that Brandon Wood and the Angels had in mind years ago. A first-round pick in 2003, rated by Baseball America as the game's third-best prospect in 2006, Wood was handed the Angels' third-base job coming out of spring training in 2010 and fumbled it away amid a flurry of strikeouts, pop-ups and weak grounders. Wood was released by the Angels last April, claimed by Pittsburgh and released after hitting .220 in 99 games.

It's a side he rarely shows reporters, and fans don't see it, but spend enough time around Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo, and you notice. "You can see his swagger," veteran right fielder Torii Hunter said of the 25-year-old rookie who is hitting .261 with a team-leading 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in entering Tuesday's game against the New York Yankees. "He walks with a chip on his shoulder. He stares with a chip on his shoulder. It's a little smirk like, 'I told you.' "You always have to have some kind of motivation.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — Maicer Izturis has sat out nearly as many games as he has played over the last three seasons, leading some to conclude that the 30-year-old infielder may be too fragile to be an everyday player in the major leagues. That's a conclusion to which the usually reserved Izturis takes exception. Strong exception. "Those are ignorant people who say that," Izturis said. "They don't know the game. I could play 140 games at 90%, 80%. But that's not the way I play.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — The Angels never ran out of patience with Brandon Wood . But they did run out of roster spots, so Tuesday they designated him for assignment, effectively ending Wood's career with the only organization he has ever known. "It was tough," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's one of our guys. We just have no way out of this right now. There's no roster flexibility. Brandon needs to go and play and get an opportunity to establish his career. "And we'll be proud of him when it happens.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — Angels General Manager Tony Reagins seemed defiant Thursday when asked if the acquisition of Alberto Callaspo would affect struggling third baseman Brandon Wood's future. "It doesn't affect Brandon's future in any way," Reagins said. Asked how that was possible, Reagins said, "It doesn't." That seems hard to imagine considering that Callaspo, 27, will remain under the Angels' control through 2013 and that Maicer Izturis , another player ahead of Wood on the depth chart, is in the first year of a three-year, $10-million contract.

He has sat out three games with what the Angels had been calling muscle tightness in his left side, and now infielder Erick Aybar has undergone an MRI that revealed a slight strain, according to Manager Mike Scioscia . "Right now we're hoping it's not a [disabled-list] situation," he said of Aybar, who had the exam Wednesday morning. Scioscia said it's unlikely Aybar will be well enough to start Friday in the home opener at Angel Stadium, but he could be available to pinch-run or pinch-hit over the weekend.

Angels 6, Chicago White Sox 3 AT THE PLATE: Brandon Wood hit a two-run double to left-center in the first inning, giving him 11 runs batted in this spring, and Mark Trumbo hit a two-run double to deep center in the fifth, giving him a team-leading 16 RBIs. Alberto Callaspo had two hits and a run, and Alexi Amarista hit a solo homer. ON THE MOUND: Jered Weaver looked sharp in his final tuneup before his season-opening start Thursday at Kansas City, giving up one earned run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two. Michael Kohn had a quick sixth ?