The Garrett Richards Era is over for the LA Angels

When Garrett Richards first got called up to the LA Angels in 2011 everyone was amazed with his stuff and people were calling Richards a potential staff ace.  Richards had some success, but never quite reached his potential due to a multitude of injuries.

Today it was announced that Garrett Richards, who had Tommy John surgery this season will no longer be a pitcher for the LA Angels.  The San Diego Padres made an offer to Richards today as did the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Richards accepted the Padres offer for 2-years and a guaranteed $15 million dollars.

Richards started for the Angels for parts of 2012 and 2013, before becoming a full-time starter in 2014.  That year Richards had a stellar campaign going 13-4 with a 2.61 ERA before a freak knee injury to his patella tendon ended his season in Boston in late August. Richards bounced back well in 2015 pitching his only full season with the Angels going 15-12 with a 3.65 ERA.

In 2016 Richards was lost for the season one month in with a torn UCL in his right elbow.  He elected to undergo stem-cell platelet injections in order to avoid Tommy John Surgery.  It seemed to work as he was able to return in early 2017, but it was only short-lived as he went down early in the season with A right bicep strain which kept him out until early September.

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Richards was finally deemed healthy last season and made 16 starts which was more than 2016 and 2017 combined (12 starts).  Richards went 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA before being lost for the season again on July 11th with UCL damage again and he underwent Tommy John surgery and was expected to miss the whole 2019 season.

The Padres in signing Richards to a guaranteed contract take a big risk with the health history of Richards.  However, when healthy Richards could bolster the Padres staff.

We at Halo Hangout and all of Halo Nation wish Garrett Richards a speedy recovery and wish him all the best in the future.