Meyer to miss 2018 season; Andrew Heaney is day to day

While Andrew Heaney’s MRI on Monday gave hope that he can pitch again this year, the club has now lost another starter for next year.

Alex Meyer, who was already ruled out for the rest of this season, will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, with an expected rehab time of 12 months. Meyer, the club and doctors finally determined the course of action on Monday, after exhausting other attempts to rehab.

Heaney’s MRI showed “no acute strain,” but a clinical exam showed “symptoms consistent with internal impingement,” according to the club. He will be able to resume throwing when symptoms subside. He is questionable for his next start, which could be pushed back as far as Saturday because of Monday’s off day.

General Manager Billy Eppler said he believed the finding of no structural damage to be “a pretty positive thing,” but he wouldn’t speculate beyond that how likely Heaney is to pitch again this season.

“I’m just going to go day by day,” Eppler said. “I have learned not to get very far ahead of myself in anything as it relates to injuries. I will wait to hear what our medical department prescribes tomorrow and each day after.”

Heaney came out of Saturday’s start in the third inning with what he described as shoulder tightness. If Heaney is unable to pitch, the Angels would likely use some combination of the 14 pitchers currently in their bullpen, perhaps starting with Jesse Chavez or Troy Scribner.

Heaney has a 7.06 ERA in five starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, beating the club’s estimates to make it back just 13 1/2 months after surgery. The Angels initially said he wouldn’t pitch in the majors until 2018.

Eppler said Monday he had no regret or concern that they had brought Heaney back too soon.

Meyer now faces a similar rehab from his surgery, which is scheduled to be performed today. Eppler said they will not plan on Meyer making any significant contribution in 2018.

“It’s pretty disappointing news,” Eppler said. “You’ve encountered other pitchers who have gone through it and made it through fine, but it’s a long and enduring rehabilitation. I know Alex’s demeanor is in a good place. We as a club trust his work ethic and drive and we believe he can overcome this and get through it and get back to pitching, but it won’t be in the near future.”

Meyer, 27, had just shown signs of beginning to turn the corner this season. He posted a 3.74 ERA in 13 starts, including seven scoreless innings in what proved to be his final outing, on July 19.

After that game, though, he began feeling discomfort in his shoulder. Throughout the time that Meyer missed, he expressed confidence that he’d be back soon, but his shoulder never progressed. He was shut down from throwing around the end of August, which ended his season.

Meyer had a history of shoulder trouble before the Angels acquired him in a trade on Aug. 1, 2016. Last winter, Meyer spent much of his offseason reworking his mechanics, in order to pitch more effectively and avoid injury. He accomplished one of those goals.

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“I feel like my mechanics are good,” Meyer said over the weekend. “I think this (shoulder trouble) is just something I need to figure out. I felt healthy all year. This just popped up. You’ve got to figure out something to make it stop. This just can’t keep happening.”