Garrett Richards has narrowly avoided Tommy John once in his career, and now it’s time for the Angels to help him try to do it again.
The Angels are currently sitting 14 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West. That means it’s time for Mike Scioscia and company to start planning for the future. Their first step should be making sure Garrett Richards takes the rest of the season off.
The talented right-hander left his most recent start against the Mariners with what the team described to be “forearm irritation.” Predictably, the Angels had him undergo an MRI to see what was really going on. The results were not encouraging.
Richards has now been diagnosed with a partially damaged ulnar collateral ligament. If that injury sounds familiar to you, it should. It is generally followed by the player undergoing Tommy John surgery. That isn’t always the case, though. The silver lining for Angels fans in this situation is that Richards has suffered this injury and avoided the massive surgery before.
Clearly, Richards and the Angels would like to see him replicate that feat this season. If they want that to happen, they need to consider shutting Richards down for an extended period of time. In fact, the right thing to do for his long-term health would be to end his season right now.
Unfortunately, his upcoming free agency might complicate that decision for everyone. The Angels certainly don’t want to harm his career, but they want to get production from Richards while he’s still on the team. If they get anywhere near the Wild Card race, they’ll be very tempted to put Richards back in action.
Richards will also be desperate to get back on the field this season. He’s slated to hit free agency this winter. His value is going to take a massive hit if he can’t get on the mound again in 2018. It would likely force him to accept a one-year “make good” contract with a team willing to bet on his health. Clearly, he’d prefer to ink a long-term deal that could provide him financial security for years to come.
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The right path here is for everyone to play it conservatively. Richards shouldn’t pitch again in 2018 unless he’s 100 percent healthy. Given the low probability of that occurring, it’s safe to say the Angels should let him take the rest of the year off to preserve his health and his career.