ANAHEIM >> Jered Weaver likely won’t ever regain the form that made him one of the best pitchers in the majors just a few seasons ago.

But he won’t ever admit it.

Weaver’s dramatic drop in velocity, among other things, has raised serious questions about the 33-year-old’s ability to remotely resemble the player that was a three-time All-Star. Concern reached new heights when his fastball topped out at 82 mph in spring training.

After throwing 60 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday in his attempt to return from neck soreness that bothered him throughout the spring, Weaver said he is confident it’s all coming back.

“One hundred percent, guarantee it,” Weaver said.

Weaver said he expects to make his 2016 debut as the Angels starter on Sunday in the finale of a four-game series with Texas.

His endurance and velocity remain question marks, but he hit 86 mph on the radar gun during his simulated game.

“I’m just going to go as hard as I can for as long as I can and let (Angels manager Mike) Scioscia make the decision,” Weaver said. “I mean it’s going to take a while for me to build up arm strength. I’m not going to lie about that. Give me two months and look out.”

Scioscia preferred to see how Weaver recovered from his 60 pitches on Tuesday before committing to a Sunday start.

“As he got into his probably second inning, you saw his stuff start to pick up and I think he threw the ball well and hopefully it’s the start of getting him where he needs to be,” Scioscia said. “His velocity picked up as he went on, so hopefully it’s a good sign.”

Leadership void?

Despite a quiet winter, the Angels did experience a fair amount of turnover in one important area of their roster.

The left side of the infield played a particularly prominent role in the clubhouse, but both David Freese and Erick Aybar are employed by different teams in 2015.

New shortstop Andrelton Simmons and third baseman Yunel Escobar are filling some unique shoes.

“I think clubhouses seem to turn over every year to some degree,” Scioscia said. “I think Erick Aybar in particular, this guy was really important to everybody in that clubhouse. We replaced the guys who came over have great make-up, great chemistry.”

Scioscia was quick to make reference to the importance of the on-field product. Granted, Simmons is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in the league and Escobar is an upgrade over Freese in the field and at the plate.

“I think our team has good clubhouse chemistry, which is obviously important, but not as important as the on-field chemistry,” Scioscia said. “That’s what you really bank on and I think it was there in spring training and hopefully it will emerge in the regular season.”

Rotation announced

On Tuesday, the Angels announced the starting pitchers for their third, fourth and fifth games of the season, the first three games of a four-game series against 2015 AL West champion Texas.

Hector Santiago (9-9, 3.59 ERA in 2015) will start Thursday, Matt Shoemaker (7-10, 4.46 ERA in ‘15) on Friday and Opening Day starter Garrett Richards (0-1) will start Saturday.