Garrett Richards

The possibility of Angels right-hander Garrett Richards bouncing back from an injury-shortened 2016 to return to the team’s rotation next year is gaining steam. In a move that has paid off thus far, Richards decided early in the season to undergo stem-cell therapy treatment on his elbow instead of Tommy John surgery.

Richards threw his second of three scheduled instructional league outings Saturday and told the Los Angeles Daily News via text that “everything was great. Felt even better than last time.” The 28-year-old tossed 50 pitches, up from 25 in his first showing, and will conclude with a four-inning effort Thursday. Barring any issues, Richards will then receive another stem-cell injection and stop throwing until January, at which point he’ll begin getting ready for the 2017 campaign.

Back in May, it appeared Richards and fellow Angels starter Andrew Heaney would undergo Tommy John procedures because of elbow tears. The pair chose another route, though Heaney hasn’t been as fortunate as Richards to this point. Heaney ultimately went under the knife in July, which means he won’t come back until the tail end of next season at the earliest. A significant snag in Richards’ recovery could also lead to surgery and keep him out for 2017, but he’s currently on track to return to action after missing all but one month this season.

Before his year ended on May 1, Richards logged a 2.34 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings. From 2014-15, Richards started 58 games and recorded a 3.18 ERA, 8.14 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 across 376 frames. That type of production over a full season would have been a boon to this year’s Angels, who had one of the majors’ worst rotations. Going forward, penciling in Richards along with Matt Shoemaker, Ricky Nolasco and Tyler Skaggs would give Los Angeles nearly an entire rotation. Alex Meyer could grab the remaining spot, while Jered Weaver and Jhoulys Chacin are impending free agents, and Nick Tropeano won’t be available after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August.

Unless Richards experiences a setback significant enough for the Angels to non-tender him, he’ll make his third trip through arbitration during the winter and collect a negligible raise over his $6.43MM salary. Richards is under LA’s control through the 2018 campaign, after which he’s scheduled to become a free agent.

Angels right-hander Garrett Richards’ May decision to eschew Tommy John surgery in favor of a stem-cell therapy treatment on his elbow has produced positive results thus far. Richards threw his first bullpen session since May 1 on Saturday and came away from it encouraged about his chances to make an impact in 2017, saying, “There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll be able to pitch” (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register).

Richards’ next milestone is to face live hitters Oct. 1, per Fletcher, who adds that the 28-year-old will then pitch in instructional league if that goes well. Should Richards emerge from those steps unscathed, he’ll have an opportunity to help the Angels next year. That Richards has currently progressed to such a degree is remarkable, as it appeared he was headed toward Tommy John surgery after receiving word in May that he had a significant tear in his elbow. Surgery is still a possibility if Richards’ recovery hits a snag, of course, and that would substantially delay his return to a big league mound. However, had Richards chosen surgery over stem-cell therapy in the first place, he would have had difficulty coming back in 2017, anyway. By taking the route he has, Richards has given himself a chance to pitch next season.

Before succumbing to injury, Richards posted mostly stellar numbers this year, logging a 2.34 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings. Over the previous two seasons, Richards started 58 games and recorded a 3.18 ERA, 8.14 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 across 376 frames. Injuries to him and fellow starters Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano have helped sink the Angels this year and could damage the team’s odds of bouncing back next season.

Heaney underwent Tommy John surgery in July after first attempting an unsuccessful stem-cell treatment. Tropeano, meanwhile, required the surgery in August after tearing his UCL in July. With few contributions from those three and Tyler Skaggs, who has only thrown 48 innings this year and had his own Tommy John scare earlier this week, the Angels have stumbled to a 63-84 mark. Their record puts them last in the American League West and tied for second worst in the AL.

While Heaney and Tropeano will most most or all of next season, Richards is so far on track to return to the Angels’ rotation. Richards should be in line for an increase over his $6.425MM salary as he makes his third of four possible trips through arbitration in the offseason. Of course, a serious setback before then would leave the Angels to decide whether to tender Richards a contract for next year.

It’s not often that news relating to an ulnar collateral ligament is promising, but it certainly seems as if there’s now real hope that Angels righty Garrett Richards can avoid Tommy John surgery. The staff ace’s latest trip to the doctor revealed sufficient healing that he can begin throwing, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report (Twitter links).

Richards did indeed pick up the ball today, making 25 tosses from 45 feet. He says that it felt like the first day of spring camp — which seemingly represents yet another sign of hope. Presumably, his throwing program will be heavily dependent upon how he feels and will proceed at a measured pace.

While there are still many hurdles remaining for the 28-year-old, it is remarkable that he has made it this far in his endeavor to avoid going under the knife. At the time that Richards’s UCL tear was first reported, in early May, the assumption was that he was headed for a procedure. While some minor tears don’t require surgery, his was initially seen as a clear case.

It was surprising, then, when the news emerged that Richards — as well as lefty Andrew Heaney — would attempt a platelet-rich plasma and stem cell treatment. By not immediately undertaking a TJ procedure, Richards sacrificed any chance of returning for the end of next season if he did ultimately have it performed. But he also gained the possibility, however slight it seemed, of pitching a full 2017 season.

Heaney chose the same path, but ultimately did not show sufficient improvement and ended up with a replacement UCL. But Richards has continued to respond to the treatment, saying recently that his arm feels great. It still remained to be seen whether and when his doctors would clear him to throw, but he finally was allowed to do so with promising results.

While it is certainly fantastic news that Richards has reached this point, the true tests are yet to come. The expectation is that he’ll try to build up towards competitive action this fall — perhaps including a stint in the Arizona Fall League. If Richards can stay on that track and return to full mound work in live game action, then there would be sufficient confidence in the ligament that he’d look to prepare for Spring Training in 2017.

The stakes remain high for both player and team. Indeed, if anything, they are increasing. If he were to swap out UCLs within the next month or two, he’d likely be ready for the start of the 2018 campaign. If he ultimately needs it at a later date — say, early next year — then much of that season could too be in jeopardy.

In spite of the downside, it’s hard not to see the reasoning behind the decisionmaking. For Richards, a return to health now would mean a chance not only to return to action in short order, but also to earn a slight bump on his $6.425MM arbitration salary rather than potentially hitting the open market following a non-tender.

For the Halos, it’s an opportunity to reap the rewards of Richards’s highly valuable pre-free agent seasons. Even if he had gone through with the surgery in May, it would have been difficult to tender him a contract for each of the next two years just in hopes that he’d be ready to go for the start of the 2018 season — his final campaign before qualifying for free agency.

After all, a healthy Richards represents a powerful, top-of-the-rotation piece for a Los Angeles team that badly needs one. Working off of a mid-to-upper-nineties fastball, Richards has nudged his swinging strike rate upward in recent years while generally limiting the damage on balls put in play against him with a solid groundball rate. Since the start of his breakout 2014 season, Richards has worked to a 3.11 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 410 2/3 innings.

This story is notable even beyond what it means for Richards and the Angels. It scarcely bears mentioning that the fragility of the ulnar collateral ligament has been a major issue in baseball in recent years. Numerous high-profile hurlers have succumbed to the surgery, and while its success rate remains quite high, it’s no sure thing — and also represents a major risk factor for another such procedure. If Richards’s seemingly novel treatment works out, it could provide an alternative in appropriate cases.