ANAHEIM — An ultrasound taken Monday of the ulnar collateral ligament in Garrett Richards’ right elbow showed “progressive healing” and “positive signs,” Angels general manager Billy Eppler said.
Richards, the club’s 28-year-old ace, was considered “asymptomatic,” Eppler added, and he is scheduled to be reevaluated in six weeks.
He had received a stem-cell injection on May 16 from Dr. Steve Yoon at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles — a regenerative procedure that is seen as an alternative to Tommy John surgery in repairing UCL tears.
Andrew Heaney, another one of the Angels’ promising young pitchers, began stem-cell therapy two weeks before Richards.