Angels’ Richards to keep having tests on right biceps strain

Angels right-handed starter Garrett Richards will be having more tests done to find the cause of his biceps strain, Los Angeles general manager Billy Eppler told Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times.

Eppler said Richards, who is on the DL for the injury after it was revealed in an MRI on April 7, had an MRI on his cervical spine Thursday after the 28-year-old experienced issues with strength in the muscle. The results were negative, but Epperly said that the team “will continue to evaluate him on a daily basis.”

Richards left an April 5 start against the Athletics after experiencing biceps cramping. He pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out four on 76 pitches before having to exit the game. Richards’ start against the A’s was his first one since last May after missing most of last season with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, an injury which he tried to treat with a stem-cell injection rather than having surgery.

Playing in his seventh year, Richards showed prior to his injury in 2016 that he could be the Angels’ ace. In 2014, he went 13-4 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 26 starts. He followed up that season by pitching over 200 innings for the first time while going 15-12 with a 3.65 ERA in 32 starts, then had a 2.34 ERA in six starts last year before being shut down for the season.