ANAHEIM -- Angels starter Garrett Richards won't be returning to action anytime soon. The right-hander was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Saturday. Richards' most recent evaluation revealed mild improvement in his right biceps strength, but also irritation of his cutaneous nerve, a contributing factor in his arm weakness.
"It's moving in the right direction, moving slowly," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "When all the pieces were put together, it seemed that the timeframe was going to warrant the 60-day DL."
Richards has been sidelined with a right biceps strain since he exited his season debut in the fifth inning on April 5 in Oakland. That outing was his first Major League appearance since May 1. He missed nearly the entire 2016 season with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but avoided Tommy John surgery by undergoing stem-cell therapy. Scioscia said this latest setback is not related to last year's elbow injury.
"It's [not] connected to the issue he had last year," Scioscia said. "Hopefully he'll get over this and he'll throw the ball well for us when he gets back out there."
The news is a major blow to the Angels' rotation, which entered Sunday ranked 26th in the Majors with a 4.57 starters' ERA.
Richards, 28, is in his seventh season with the Angels. He owns a 40-32 record and a 3.56 ERA through 149 games (94 starts) in the big leagues.