Los Angeles Angels starter Garrett Richards has been on the road to recovery since tearing his patellar tendon in August and he's close to returning. On the other hand, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Nick Franklin could be in danger of missing the start of the season.
Richards was on his way to being a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award, but he was shut down at the end of August after he was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. His scheduled recovery time was set at 6-9 months and at this point it's possible he'll be ready for the beginning of the regular season.
According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, the right-hander tossed four no-hit innings (53 pitches) against the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team on Monday afternoon and he feels "great right now." Richards struck out three and walked before he was taken out. Richards threw 44 pitches last week during an intrasquad game. He's expected to start another Minor League game on Saturday and likely won't face Major League batters before returning to the team's starting rotation in the mid-April.
"I think the mature thing to do would just be to go into any game the same way, whether it be a Triple-A game or a big league game. To me, it doesn't matter," Richards told Gonzalez.
While Richards is on schedule with his recovery, the Tampa Bay Rays watched one of their young players suffer an injury on Monday and his status for Opening Day looks to be in jeopardy. Nick Franklin strained his oblique on his last swing of batting practice and acknowledged it felt "severe," according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Franklin was acquired by the Rays last season in the David Price trade and he was expected to get a lot of time at second base in 2015. He's listed as the starter on the team's depth chart, but right now it looks as if Logan Forsythe will get the Opening Day honors because oblique strains take up to a few weeks to heal. The 24-year-old Franklin hasn't had a good spring and is batting just .242/.242/.273 with three runs scored, three RBIs, two stolen bases and 13 strikeouts in 12 games.
Manager Kevin Cash won't have much of a decision to make, so look for Forsythe to be the starter on Apr. 6. He's batting .240/.321/.720 with seven runs scored, three home runs and four RBIs in 10 spring training games.
