ANAHEIM >> On his rapid ascent to the majors, Mike Trout played only 50 games at the advanced Class-A level. He never set foot in the California League after his final game for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes as a 19-year-old.

That will change this week.

In a statement released through the team, Angels general manager Billy Eppler said that Trout will begin playing rehab games for the Inland Empire 66ers, likely this week.

Trout will not travel with the Angels to Minnesota. Instead, he’ll have a private workout today and join Inland Empire for a full workout Tuesday. Once he demonstrates he’s ready, Trout will begin playing games. How many will he need?

“Could be six or seven,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “It depends on how Mike feels.”

Trout was also the only Angel chosen to start the All-Star Game a week from Tuesday. His availability for the July 11 game is still to be determined.

In a best-case scenario, Trout could play his first rehab game Wednesday in San Bernardino, finish the week out there (Inland Empire has a home game every day through July 10) and fly to Miami for the All-Star festivities.

“A lot of this is going to be determined by how he comes out of his workouts, how he feels” Scioscia said of Trout. “We’re not going to miss any steps.”

On the disabled list for the first time in his career, Trout hasn’t played since injuring his thumb in a head-first slide May 28.

Trout had surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb three days later. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steve Shin at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. He was initially given a 6-8 week timetable for recovery.

Sunday marked exactly five weeks since the day of the injury. The Angels are 16-16 in his absence.

Trout has been named an All-Star in each of his six full seasons. He has started each of the last five. In 2014 and 2015, Trout was chosen All-Star Game MVP.

International signings

The Angels signed Trent Deveaux, a 17-year-old center fielder from the Bahamas, on the first day of the 2017 international signing period Sunday. He received a signing bonus of $1.2 million.

Baseball America listed Deveaux, a converted shortstop, as the No. 19 international amateur in this year’s class.

The Angels also signed Bahamian outfielder D’Shawn Knowles, BA’s 37th-ranked prospect.

Also

Per their contractual agreement, veteran outfielder Michael Bourn requested and was granted a release from his minor league contract with the Angels. Bourn, 34, batted .260 with two home runs and four stolen bases in 23 games with Triple-A Salt Lake. … Matt Shoemaker remained on track in his rehab process after throwing a bullpen session Saturday. The right-hander said his next step will be determined in the coming days: either a minor league rehab start for Inland Empire or a simulated game during the Angels’ trip to Minnesota and Texas. … Scioscia said that Shoemaker would not rejoin the Angels rotation until after the All-Star break.