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Angels call-up Troy Scribner’s parents learn it pays to have a passport

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Troy Scribner went unselected through 1,216 picks in the 2013 MLB draft. But the right-hander from Sacred Heart University beat all but 89 of those selections to the major leagues.

He arrived at Rogers Centre on Friday to work out with the Angels. They will promote the 26-year-old to the major leagues Saturday and ask him to make his major league debut in relief of Yusmeiro Petit.

The Angels opted to name Petit, their long reliever, the game’s starter to lessen the pressure placed on Scribner.

Scribner received word late Tuesday, after the Angels’ 11-inning loss that night in Cleveland. While in Memphis with triple-A Salt Lake, he called his parents. As they planned their visit to his first game, they quickly realized they were lacking a necessary aspect: passports to come to Toronto.

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“I don’t know why they didn’t have passports,” Scribner said. “But they didn’t.”

In Buffalo, they learned, there is a passport agency that fulfills last-minute requests. The Scribners drove there Friday from their Connecticut home, paid the expedited fee, and then went onto Toronto.

Scribner’s older brother, Evan, made the major leagues in 2012. He is currently on the Seattle Mariners’ disabled list.

A week after the 2013 draft, Scribner signed with Houston. On the verge of releasing him near the end of 2016 spring training, the Astros sent him to the Angels for cash. He then worked his way up their system while wielding a sub-90-mph fastball.

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The Angels have an open spot on their 40-man roster, so they won’t need to create one. But they will need to vacate a 25-man spot on Saturday.

Trout’s future brother-in-law suspended

Angels minor league right-hander Aaron Cox received a 50-game suspension Friday for testing positive for methylphenidate and its metabolite. Metylphenidate is commonly known as Ritalin, the central nervous system stimulant used to treat attention deficit disorder.

Major League Baseball offers exemptions to players approved to use Ritalin and Adderall, a similar drug. Players who test positive without exemptions or with lapsed exemptions are subject to suspension.

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Cox has not pitched this season because a line drive fractured his orbital bone in spring training. His sister is Jessica Cox, who is engaged to marry Mike Trout in November.

Short hops

Left-hander Andrew Heaney will start Monday for triple-A Salt Lake. He could throw as many as six innings, nearing a return from July 1, 2016 elbow ligament replacement surgery. ...Left-hander Tyler Skaggs, returning from an oblique strain, will start again for Salt Lake on Tuesday after his Thursday outing was cut short by rain. ...Right-hander Alex Meyer (shoulder inflammation) is not yet throwing after he was placed on the disabled list Monday. ...Right-hander Andrew Bailey (shoulder inflammation) returned to Anaheim from his triple-A rehab assignment, where was experiencing pain. He is still on the DL.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Follow Pedro Moura on Twitter @pedromoura

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