Angels pitcher Garrett Richards gets encouraging news in recovery

ANAHEIM >> The glimmer of hope Garrett Richards once had continues to get brighter.

Garrett Richards got the go-ahead to increase his workouts, perhaps throwing a baseball in a couple of weeks, as he continues to try to dodge Tommy John surgery that would have him out until 2018.

On a day the Angels announced that Nick Tropeano would, as expected, be undergoing the surgery, Richards is still seeing positive enough results from stem-cell therapy to hold off on the procedure.

“Stem cells are a pretty remarkable thing,” Richards said. “The body heals itself. So that’s awesome. We’re not out of the woods yet. We’ll see what happens moving forward, but today was a good day.”

Richards said he will increase his workouts to include exercises that simulate throwing. He will do that for 10 to 14 days and then have another ultrasound. If he comes through that, he will be cleared to begin throwing.

The Angels have already ruled out Richards pitching in the majors this season. The immediate goal is just to get him into some kind of game — instructional league or the Arizona Fall League — by November. That’s the point at which he and the Angels need to make a final decision about Tommy John surgery. If he waits beyond that, he could miss time in 2018 too.

For now, though, the specter of Tommy John surgery is looking slightly less likely.

“Every appointment that comes with good news gives us more optimism,” General Manager Billy Eppler said. “I definitely feel better today than yesterday.”

Richards said he has felt pretty good the entire time. He last pitched on May 1, when he came out of a game with what at the time was identified as dehydration. Even though subsequent testing showed UCL damage, Richards said he never felt injured seriously.

“I was asymptomatic at six weeks and I haven’t had any pain since I went on the DL,” Richards said. “Through all the lifting, everything has been normal. In my gut, I felt like it was OK, but you don’t know anything till you have it imaged.”

Richards’ news was better than Tropeano’s. Tropeano was hurt during his July 18 start. The initial diagnosis was that he needed Tommy John surgery, but he spent a couple of weeks getting further opinions before deciding on the procedure.

The Angels have already lost Andrew Heaney to Tommy John surgery. Heaney, whose stem-cell treatment didn’t work as well as hoped, relented and had the surgery on July 1.

Cron cleared to hit

C.J. Cron has been cleared to resume hitting and will report to Arizona to work out while the Angels are on their upcoming trip, placing him ahead of schedule in rehab from hand surgery.

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Cron broke his left hand on July 9 and had surgery on July 12, with a projected rehab time of six to eight weeks. He is three weeks removed from the surgery.

“That’s remarkable,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hopefully we’ll continue to get good news as he moves forward.”

Scioscia said Cron will need more than a week in Arizona before he’s ready to begin a rehab assignment. Given that timetable, it’s realistic to think Cron could be back in about two weeks.

Also

Geovany Soto will report to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin a rehab assignment, which is expected to last five to seven games. Soto has been out with left knee inflammation since July 18. ... Craig Gentry rejected the Angels’ minor league assignment and became a free agent. Daniel Nava is still designated for assignment. The Angels still could either trade him, release him or outright him to the minors. ... The Angels had the two players with the most hits in the majors in July. Yunel Escobar had 37 and Andrelton Simmons had 36. ... Alex Meyer, the newly acquired right-hander from the Minnesota Twins, had his bullpen session moved from Wednesday to Thursday because he arrived in Arizona late Tuesday night, Eppler said. Meyer has missed much of the last two months with shoulder inflammation, but the Angels believe he will be able to pitch in games again in a couple weeks.

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