The Tuesday, May 17, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes the team closing in on a minor-league contract with Tim Lincecum, Garrett Richards opting for stem-cell therapy rather than Tommy John, and a bunch more…
The Story: Angels close to signing former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum
MWAH Says: This is the part where I throw down a wet blanket. Lincecum is 31, owns a 4.68 ERA over his last 600+ innings, is coming off of major hip surgery, and throws 3-4 mph slower than he did in his heyday. He is also still several minor-league starts away from being ready for big-league action. I like this move, but I have no expectation that Big Time Timmy Jim will actually prove to be even a reliable back-end starter for the Halos. I really hope he proves me wrong, but I see no reason to believe he will at this point.
The Story: Garrett Richards opts for stem-cell therapy rather than Tommy John
MWAH Says: I dig it. If this hail mary works, Richards could return to the mound for the Angels this season. If it doesn’t, then he undergoes Tommy John in July/August and misses out on all of 2017 rather than most of it. Risking a couple extra months of rehab seems well worth the chance of avoiding surgery altogether. Just what the odds are of the stem-cell stuff repairing his UCL is unknown, but they’re probably pretty low. This is the type of procedure that resurrected Bartolo Colon’s career, so there is at least one example to draw on of it working.
The Story: Daniel Nava strains groin, likely headed back to DL
MWAH Says: Dude was back for what, a week? If the Angels want to trade him at the deadline, it would probably help for him to stay on the field. Oh well, not like they were getting much for him anyway. Rafael Ortega, who never should have been optioned back to Triple-A in the first place, will probably be back for Tuesday night’s game and slotted into left field.
The Story: C.J. Wilson throws sim game, but return isn’t near
MWAH Says: Womp womp. Wilson threw a successful 40-pitch sim game on Monday, but apparently needs to throw a few more before the Angels will clear him to start a rehab assignment. Mike Scioscia says there is still no timetable for Wilson’s return even though he’s been throwing for weeks now, which seems pretty pessimistic at this point.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs passes strength test, resumes throwing program
MWAH Says: Skaggs threw from 60 feet with no issues on Monday and will try stretching it out to 90 feet on Tuesday. With the Angels seemingly hitting the brakes on Wilson’s recovery, it looks like there might actually be a chance Skaggs gets back to the Angels first. The left-hander made three starts for Salt Lake in April and pitched several more outings in spring training, so he shouldn’t have to take as long as Wilson to stretch things out once he’s cleared.
The Story: Javy Guerra clears waivers, accepts outright assignment to Triple-A
MWAH Says: He’ll probably stay there now that the pitching staff has some semblance of stability. The bullpen is still incredibly overworked, but not so much that they need both an optionable guy like A.J. Achter and a veteran like Guerra.
The Story: Mike Bolsinger will start on Wednesday for the Dodgers
MWAH Says: Everyone gets pushed back a day, meaning the Angels won’t get to beat up on Scott Kazmir this series. Bummer.
The Story: Atlanta Braves fire manager Fredi Gonzalez
MWAH Says: This was a long time coming. Not that it’ll change anything about the Braves’ catastrophe of a season. With Gonzalez gone, the wobbliest chair now belongs to Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus, who’s totally not losing it. Nope, not at all.
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