Garrett Richards Injury: Updates on Angels SP's Elbow and Recovery

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Garrett Richards will skip surgery on a UCL tear in his elbow but is out for the foreseeable future. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on May 10.

Continue for updates.

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Richards to Seek Alternative Healing Method Instead of Surgery

Monday, May 16

Richards has elected to not undergo Tommy John surgery and will receive something "similar" to a PRP shot, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, who added he'll be shut down for six weeks. 

Angles general manager Billy Eppler confirmed it was a stem cell injection, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. 

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Richards Among Angels' Best Starters 

Richards was one of the Angels' best starters last year, which is simultaneously an endorsement of the 27-year-old right-hander and an indictment of the team's starting rotation. According to FanGraphs, the Angels finished 21st in starting pitcher WAR (8.4) and 19th in starter FIP (4.26).

The 2015 season was a bit of a mixed bag for Richards. He failed to capitalize on his breakout 2014 campaign, as his earned run average climbed from 2.61 to 3.65. His 3.3 walks per nine innings were also tied for 12th-highest among qualified starters, per FanGraphs. It's impossible to ignore his major knee injury in August 2014, though:

There was a good chance he'd bounce back in 2016. Richards didn't have the benefit of a full offseason to prepare for Opening Day last year, as he was recovering from his injury. That wasn't a problem this spring.

He pitched 207.1 innings in 2015, and his velocity didn't register a significant drop—97.1 mph fastball in 2014, 96.1 mph fastball in 2015—following his knee surgery, per Brooks Baseball. Both factors point to his knee surgery playing little role in his performance going forward.