Out since suffering a major knee injury covering first base on August 20, right-hander Garrett Richards looks ready to rejoin the Angels’ rotation.
His most recent minor-league rehab start wasn’t very impressive, as Richards allowed five runs and handed out four walks in five innings Tuesday at Triple-A, but Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports that “if Richards checks out OK the Angels plan to start him against the Astros on Sunday.”
Richards threw 91 pitches Tuesday, so his arm strength is built all the way up, and he previously had very good results (and plenty of strikeouts) before struggling somewhat Tuesday.
A healthy Richards would provide a big boost to the Angels’ rotation. He had a breakout season last year at age 25, throwing 169 innings with a 2.61 ERA and 164/51 K/BB ratio before the knee injury.
