LA Angels: Griffin Canning out at least three more weeks

The Angels will head into the 2020 season without starting pitcher Griffin Canning, as he will be reassessed in three to four weeks after receiving additional medical treatment.

The Angels announced on Friday afternoon that Griffin Canning will undergo biological injections in Los Angeles to address his right elbow discomfort and will be reassessed in three to four weeks.

• What this means: The Halos will start the season without Canning in their rotation, which opens up a spot for the likes of Matt Andriese, Patrick Sandoval, Jaime Barria, and Jose Suarez.

Canning was shut down last August due to right elbow inflammation after a promising rookie campaign in which he started 17 games and finished 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA. While his back of the baseball card stats look pedestrian, at times he flashed un-hittable stuff with a 9.56 strikeout rate per 9 innings that ranked second among rookie starters who threw at least 90 innings last season.

Canning progressed back to health over the winter and looked ready for the 2020 season in his first spring start against the Dodgers when he threw two scoreless innings, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.

Then trouble re-emerged.

An MRI following his Dodgers start revealed that Canning has chronic changes to the UCL as well as acute joint irritation in his right elbow. That was a worrisome report, if you asked me. Canning tried to downplay the initial diagnosis by calling it “normal wear and tear” in his right elbow. The latest diagnosis seems to suggest that there is more to it than normal wear and tear.

For now, Angels fans will have to hold their collective breath that this injury doesn’t turn into something more severe, such as surgery, which would obviously require Canning to miss a large chunk of the regular season.