With John Lackey's next start on Friday getting skipped because of forearm tightness, the entire rotation has been bothered by a minor ailment at some point this spring. Regardless of just how many of the guys below end up missing significant amounts of time, the list has to be at least a little bit of a concern:

|STAR| John Lackey — forearm/elbow tightness

|STAR| Ervin Santana — sprained elbow ligament

|STAR| Jered Weaver — inflammation/sore shoulder before arriving in camp

|STAR| Joe Saunders — tightness in the back of his shoulder early in camp

|STAR| Kelvim Escobar — strained calf muscle (and that whole 'major shoulder surgery' thing)

|STAR| Nick Adenhart — stomach flu for a couple days

Injury list courtesy of the Orange County Register Angels blog, which is actually one of the best baseball team news/info blogs out there if you're interested.

To me, Santana is an AL Cy Young candidate turned ticking time bomb. Unless the price is steeply discounted, I'm going elsewhere for upper-tier pitching. I'd argue that Saunders overachieved last season, and he's likely to regress even if he's 100 percent healthy for 30-plus starts.

On the plus side, Escobar is well ahead of his initially planned timetable and he could return to the rotation by May 1. Lackey is about to hit the open market and get a nice payday in free agency this winter, and he's been openly discussing his desire to cash in after giving the Angels a nice deal of sorts over the last few years. I'd be more worried about him in 2010 if he shoulders a larger than usual workload this season. 

Further, I think Adenhart is actually a nice sleeper this season. Getting knocked around as a 22-year-old in the Pacific Coast League isn't a crime. His command has to improve, but I wouldn't be surprised if he actually holds his own and emerges as a viable solution for the No. 5 spot by season's end.

Anyone else worried about the stability of the rotation in Anaheim?