Garrett Richards has decided on a Tommy John surgery. This means that the right-handed Los Angeles Angels will be out for the rest of the season.
Richards was diagnosed with damage to the collateral ligament of his elbow. He then had two options: the reconstruction of the ligament or a conservative treatment. The starter decided on the former.
It is now the third season in a row for Richards in which he suffers from an arm injury. In the past two years, he has therefore only played six games each. In 2016 he had an injury on his collateral ligament but decided against surgery. In the previous year, he finally suffered from nerve irritation in the biceps.
This season Richards completed 16 starts (3.66 ERA) and just returned from the Disabled List after a thigh injury. He finally left his last start against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday after 2 2/3 innings in the middle of an at-bat against Nelson Cruz with problems at the elbow.
Richards becomes a free agent at the end of the season, but after the Tommy John Surgery it is questionable whether he can pitch again before 2020.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.