Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
Garrett Richards is avoiding Tommy John surgery, for now
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes Garrett Richards’ alternative recovery plan, Brad Ausmus’ sweatshirt and reactions to Sunday’s basebrawl.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
* * *
The Angels are in a bad way. They're 17-21 and already 4.5 games back of the AL West leaders, the Mariners and Rangers, as well as the second wild card. Andrew Heaney is trying to avoid Tommy John surgery with a platelet-rich plasma injection, and now Garrett Richards is trying to avoid his own TJ procedure with stem-cell therapy. It's possible both pitchers avoid going under the knife, but it's just as likely, if not more so, that the Angels are going to end up losing two starters to elbow surgery all the same.
Richards is the more significant loss, and even if he doesn’t need Tommy John in the end, he’s still going to be out for quite some time. The stem-cell therapy will keep him from throwing for six weeks, and that’s just the time to find out if the treatment is working. Then he’ll have to build back up and hope nothing goes awry, and by then, the Angels could already be out of the races in 2016. Should Richards need surgery, it’s possible he ends up missing not only all of this season, but all of 2017 as well: The recovery time for Tommy John is already around a year, so delaying things by a couple of months by trying an alternative, non-surgical treatment is only going to push a post-surgery return that much further away.
That’s obviously the more negative view of things, though. It’s possible that the stem-cell therapy takes and repairs the torn ligament in Richards’ elbow, and while the Angels are out of it in the present, they get to start fresh with their mended ace next spring. What we do know is the Angels can’t afford another injury in their rotation: In addition to Richards and Heaney, Tyler Skaggs still isn’t back from his 2014 Tommy John, and C.J. Wilson hasn’t thrown a pitch since last July.
- This is why the Angels are reportedly besting the Giants in the race for Tim Lincecum. Who knows what Lincecum will bring to the table -- he's been the worst starter in baseball by ERA+ since 2012 -- but at this point, the Halos have to try just about anything.
- Brad Ausmus was ejected from Monday's Tigers' game, but he left a parting gift on home plate before he left.
- Good news for the Mets, as Steven Matz's elbow ligament is fine, and he'll be held out of his next start more for precautionary purposes than anything.
- Rougned Odor and Jose Bautista are expected to be suspended later on Tuesday. Precedent gives us an idea of how long Odor could be suspended for, but this is also an opportunity for MLB to eschew precedent given the whole punching thing.
- Sam Miller wrote on the 14 heroes from Sunday's brawl, which sounds weird until you read it. That's half the fun of Sam's work, really.
- Last thing on the brawl: Grant Brisbee wrote about the written rules of punching each other in the face, a situation caused by unwritten rules.
- The Royals have not been good in 2016, and it's time for them to adapt.
- On the bright side, the Royals did win the World Series last year, so even if they lose now and the young players they traded away play well, flags fly forever and all that.
- You've all been to the ballpark, so know this: If you or someone you love has been trolled by Joey Votto at a game, there are people here to help you.
- FanGraphs made an in-season change to their prospect coverage and reunited with Eric Longenhagen in the process. Congrats, Eric!
See More:
