Garrett Richards to miss six to nine months with knee injury

Angels' right-hander Garrett Richards will be out for six to nine months after suffering a torn patella tendon in his left knee, according to an announcement from the team. Richards suffered the injury while covering first base on a grounder at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, and will undergo surgery next week.

The loss of Richards is a huge one to the Angels, who have also lost Tyler Skaggs to season-ending surgery this month. Richards has been excellent all season, posting a 13-4 record and 2.61 ERA in 26 starts, and his absence will leave a sizable gap in an Angels' rotation that will now rely on Jered Weaver, the struggling C.J. Wilson, Matt Shoemaker, Hector Santiago and recent callup Wade LeBlanc.

The Angels are expected to try to complete a waiver-wire trade for a starter in the ten days before the waiver trade deadline, similar to how the Dodgers added Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia earlier in the month. The list of starters who have cleared waivers includes Yu Darvish (Rangers), Jon Niese (Mets), Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), and Josh Beckett (Dodgers), with Niese seeming to be the only legitimate trade candidate of that group.

Richards could miss the beginning of next season with the injury, depending on his recovery timetable. The Angels are expected to be active on the starting pitching market this winter, with some within the game already speculating that they will push hard for soon-to-be free agent James Shields.

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