After exiting his first start of the season with biceps cramps, Angels ace Garrett Richards will undergo what the team is calling a precautionary MRI tomorrow, per a club announcement. Manager Mike Scioscia told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that the team’s medical staff is “confident this isn’t connected to his other situation last year,” in reference to the torn ulnar collateral ligament that Richards suffered last season. While the majority of players with UCL tears ultimately fall to Tommy John surgery, Richards opted for a stem cell therapy treatment that allowed him to rehab without surgery and pitch throughout Spring Training. The Halos are hopeful that Richards can help to anchor their staff in 2017, though obviously this isn’t the start they envisioned.
A few more notable injury updates from around the game…
- Astros right-hander Collin McHugh exited his rehab start with Triple-A Fresno on Thursday after just one inning, per Bryant-Jon Anteola of the Fresno Bee (Twitter links). According to Anteola, McHugh threw 26 pitches in the first inning, but after a pair of warmup pitches prior to the second frame, he called for the trainer to come to the mound and was removed from the game. McHugh dealt with a dead arm during Spring Training and opened the season on the disabled list. There’s been no word from the team just yet, but Anteola notes that McHugh’s pitch count for the rehab outing was set for 85 pitches, making the early departure all the more ominous.
- An MRI revealed nothing beyond the original diagnosis of a strain in the right shoulder of injured Athletics reliever John Axford, as MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza writes. Nonetheless, Axford won’t even pick up a ball for the next week. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters that there’s no timeline for Axford’s return right now, and the team will reevaluate the situation once he resumes throwing. It seems likely, then, that Axford will miss more than the minimum 10 days with this ailment, though the fact that the MRI revealed no structural damage in his rotator cuff or labrum is good news for both team and player. Somewhat remarkably, Espinoza notes that this is Axford’s first trip to the disabled list in a nine-year MLB career.
- Yankees top prospect James Kaprielian is headed for an MRI and a dye contrast on his right elbow after experiencing pain, the team announced. Kaprielian, New York’s first-round pick back in 2015 and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of baseball, has already been placed on the minor league disabled list. This isn’t Kaprielian’s first brush with arm troubles, either, as he made just three starts in 2016 due largely to a strained flexor tendon in his right arm. (He did return to make seven starts in the Arizona Fall League.) Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and ESPN’s Keith Law all ranked Kaprielian in their top 100 prospects heading into the 2017 season, with Law’s No. 28 overall ranking standing out as the most bullish.
Yankees need to give up with SPs. We suck at developing them. We will instead develop our position players, bullpen, and bench. We will develop a #4-5 SP. We will then buy 3 aces with all the money saved and have a dominant rotation that way.
No
“We will then buy 3 aces with all the money saved and have a dominant rotation that way.”
Sorry but George isn’t alive anymore.
MB very well said..that’s not the way the team is ran anymore. It wasn’t like Kaprilian would be up this year.
Actually I think he’s not far from the truth. Would not surprise me to see the Yankees sign 2 of Tanaka, Darvish, or Arriata this offseason and then make a trade for starter #3.
I think Gerrit Cole will be a Yankee one day.
Was hoping he would sign with them when they drafted him, but of course I respect his decision
Nova’s pretty good. Now.
If Nova is good, what does mediocre look like?
Pineda?
That is what frustration looks like.
Clay Buchholz?
lol “We’ll just buy three aces!”
It’s 2017, that’s not how it works any more.
George doesn’t have to be alive. Their financial plan is pretty obvious and has never strayed from the script. The Yankees are getting under the luxury tax either this year or next and then will spend up to the luxury tax area. It means they WILL add about 70 million to the payroll assuming Judge, Sanchez, Bird and maybe one or two other prospects play everyday. Add Didi at an affordable rate and their payroll will only be around 130 million after this season.
I do think the Yankees will buy at least one “ace” caliber pitcher, try to develop the back of the rotation, we know they can develop the bullpen and invested in their closer already so it isn’t outlandish to assume the Yankees will spend money on the front of the rotation and as mentioned, maybe trade for one more using their depth of prospects.
Dude those days are over..if you’re really a fan respect the process.
If you do buy a top starting pitcher, the odds are pretty good you’re getting a 31-32 year old with some mileage/injury history. And you are going to make a financial commitment to that player that includes years that will not be very productive… that’s just the nature of free agency in this day and age. The notion you are going to “buy 3 of them” is ridiculous and shows an utter lack of understanding of how current MLB teams are run.
At some point, they’re going to have to dip into their reserves and trade for one. I also wonder what the impact of Tanaka’s medicals will have on his opt out. There could be some teams pretty reticent about making a large ($70+ million as a starting point) offer, especially when you consider he had incredible workloads in Japan as an 18-19 year old. He was throwing 180+ innings per year in his age 18-21 seasons.
McHugh is done
Quintana?