Dodgers’ Rod Barajas hopes to return to lineup early next week

Catcher Rod Barajas went through several fielding drills before Friday night’s game against the Angels in hopes of returning to the Dodgers’ lineup early next week.

Barajas sprained his right ankle chasing a wild pitch June 18 against the Houston Astros, and he’s eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Monday.

The 35-year-old Barajas squatted in front of the left-field fence at Angel Stadium and went through various exercises, including having balls thrown to him in the dirt that forced him to quickly drop to his knees.

The plan was “to see if I can do everything that I’ll probably need to do in a game,” Barajas said beforehand.

If the ankle responds well, Barajas said he then hoped to play one or two rehabilitation games, perhaps with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, over the weekend and then be activated.

But Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said head trainer Stan Conte “seemed to be a little bit waffling” as to whether Barajas would be ready Monday.

“Maybe we’re a day off or two days off,” Mattingly said, adding that Conte “didn’t know if [Barajas] was quite there yet.”

Barajas — who was batting .220 with eight home runs and 21 runs batted in when he was hurt — said “there’s still some soreness” in the ankle and “it’s still not the most comfortable thing to walk on first thing in the morning. But it’s gotten better, a lot better.”

Like old times

Former Dodgers battery mates Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Scioscia were reunited Friday night for the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodgers-Angels game at Angel Stadium.

Valenzuela, now a member of the Dodgers’ broadcast team, wore a red Angels jacket as he delivered the pitch to Scioscia, the Angels manager.

Scioscia had joked before the ceremony that if he got into a crouch behind home plate to catch the ball, “if I go down, they’re going to have a crane here to pick me up.” But he crouched nonetheless and never had to move as the left-handed Valenzuela delivered the pitch.

The pitch was part of the Angels’ 50th anniversary celebration, in which a different former Angel throws out the first pitch before each home game. Valenzuela made two starts for the Angels in 1991.

As Dodgers teammates, Valenzuela made 239 starts with Scioscia behind the plate, going 104-87 with a 3.31 earned-run average, including a no-hitter.

Short hops

Asked again whether the Dodgers bankruptcy was affecting his team’s play, Mattingly pointed to Saturday’s game, when Angels pitcher Jered Weaver is scheduled to start. “If you’re worrying about what’s going on up above you, you’re in trouble, because you’ve got your hands full with Jered Weaver,” he said.

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Times staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report.