Angels' Andrew Heaney set to make first start since April '16

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney will likely return to a major league mound either Friday or Saturday for the first time since having Tommy John surgery in July 2016.

The left-hander, who tore his UCL in his first start of the 2016 season prior to having elbow ligament replacement surgery, rejoined the Angels on Tuesday and threw a bullpen session, manager Mike Scioscia said.

"He's had just a seamless recovery and rehabilitation from this surgery," Scioscia told the Orange County Register on Tuesday. "Everything to this point has gone as well as you could ever expect. I think where he is right now, we're very excited about it. We want to finish this off and hopefully we'll get him back out there and see how many pitches he has in him as he gets into a major league game, which is obviously a little different than a minor league rehab game."

The 26-year-old Heaney was 6-4 with a 3.49 ERA in 18 starts for the Angels in 2015, striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings. He made just one appearance in 2016 before landing on the disabled list.

The Angels hold the second spot in a muddled American League wild-card race as six teams are within two games of Los Angeles through Tuesday's games.