Angels’ JC Ramirez to undergo Tommy John surgery

Angels right-handed starter JC Ramirez will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced.

Ramirez was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday after being originally diagnosed with a right elbow strain. However, his updated diagnosis makes him the third Angels starter to go down already this season along with Matt Shoemaker (strained right forearm) and Andrew Heaney (inflamed left elbow). Shoemaker, Heaney, Ramirez, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs also missed a good amount of the 2017 season.

For the 29-year-old Ramirez, he was looking to build off a 2017 season in which he went 11-10 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in 147 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched across 27 appearances, 24 of which were starts. He missed six weeks near the end of the year after tryinf to treat a partially torn UCL in the same elbow with stem-cell therapy.

Ramirez struggled in limited action this year, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings pitched (9.45 ERA). He struck out four batters and walked seven en route to posting a 0.57 K/BB ratio and a 2.10 WHIP.

With Ramirez gone this year and possibly part of the 2019 season plus the other injuries to the staff, the Angels will have to look for an arm or two at some point to stabilize their rotation.