MASH Report (5/9/16)

• Garrett Richards will need Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL.

The Angels, already dealing with an assortment of injuries throughout their starting rotation, were dealt a debilitating blow on Friday, when it was revealed that their best starting pitcher, Garrett Richards, will likely require season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair a high-grade tear of his ulnar collateral ligament.

Richards will seek a second opinion, presumably from Dr. James Andrews, but Angels general manager Billy Eppler acknowledged that the invasive procedure, which would keep Richards out until at least the middle of the 2017 season, is “likely at this point.”

This sucks.

• Mike Moustakas is out with a fractured hand.

Trainer Nick Kenney and Moustakas both said the recovery time will be two to three weeks.

The return times is the extreme best case return time. Here is a look at similar past injuries.

Five to six weeks is more likely a return time.

• Nick Hundley was placed on the DL with a strained oblique which averages three to four weeks for a return to action.

• CC Sabathia went on the DL after with a sore groin in which he continued to pitch through.

But in Sabathia’s mind, continuing to pitch after feeling the tweak wasn’t what landed him on the disabled list. He said he felt the damage had already been done.

“I just know it was during the fourth inning and I felt it. It felt weird on the next pitch. And then it just turned into the next pitch and the next pitch and the next pitch. If I’m going to pull it, I’m going to pull it. I’m not just going to feel it and then stop. I’m going to push it.”

Friday night, when Sabathia was placed on the DL, Girardi indicated that he expected the lefty to spend about three weeks out of action, as that is how much time Sabathia spent on the DL last time he suffered a similar injury in 2012. But Saturday, Sabathia said he wouldn’t be shocked if he returned as soon as he was eligible to come off the 15-day DL.

Listen to the team and go with the three weeks and don’t be surprised if the layoff is longer.

• Eduardo Escobar is on the DL with a strained groin. Maybe Jorge Polanco can finally secure the shortstop job.

• A.J. Griffin is out with shoulder stiffness. Reading through the reports, he may just miss the minimum 15 days.

• Jemile Weeks landed on the DL with a strained hamstring.

• Jake Petricka is out with hip impingement.

• Jeff Passan looks at some pitchers who are losing velocity compared to last year. Here is my favorite bit of information from the article:

Just look at the 10 fastest April velocities after Syndergaard this year and who has had or needs Tom-my John surgery:
Nathan Eovaldi: Yes
Garrett Richards: Yes
Jose Fernandez: Yes
Yordano Ventura: No
Danny Salazar: Yes
Aaron Sanchez: No
Stephen Strasburg: Yes
Gerrit Cole: No
Rubby De La Rosa: Yes
And …
10. Matt Harvey: Yes.

The velocity-injury link is about as strong as ever. Pitchers are good as long as they can keep the velocity up and stay healthy.

• Peter Gammons ramblings on a while about pitching injuries.

I don’t know what the Angels would have been if Richards put up a Cy Young season, but I do not know what they will be without him either. Injuries change everything, and everyone in the business should be working together to see how pitchers are developed from the age of 12, and why so many break down as they enter their primes.

Fastball velocity reading for pitchers returning from the DL

• Yu Darvish was 94-97 mph in his last rehab start. Most reports are just says the 97 value.

1-2-3 first inning for Yu Darvish at Dell Diamond. threw 13 pitches, mostly fastballs. velocity? very good (94-97 mph) @Rangers @RRExpress

— Kevin Lyttle (@klyttleAAS) May 7, 2016

• Ervin Santana’s average fastball velocity is fine

• A recent article goes over Jorge de la Rosa’s return after a velocity drop. The article finds this nugget.

Although he was receiving massage treatment for groin soreness since his first start, he insisted the groin wasn’t the reason, and he said nothing was wrong with his arm.

Are we going to see a rash of groin injuries across the league?

Players on the 2016 DL

The Red players have had updates since the last report. Click on the “Date” for a link to go to the latest article on the player.