Angels ace Garrett Richards won’t be ready for opening day

The Los Angeles Angels will have to wait a little bit longer for the return of their ace Garrett Richards.

Richards, who suffered a torn patella tendon in his left knee last August, had hoped to be ready for opening day, but Angels manager Mike Scioscia admitted Sunday that’s not happening. Richards, 26, is preparing as if he’ll be ready for opening day, but his skipper and the Angels won’t let him rush back into game-action.

From MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez:

“He knows it,” Scioscia said. “He’s not going to be able to rush it because our medical staff is not going to let him. There’s a progression. He has to pass every plateau. It’s great that he’s going to shoot for being ready by Opening Day, he’s working very hard to be ready by Opening Day — but he’s not going to be ready Opening Day.”

If Richards indeed starts the season on the disabled list, the Angels’ rotation will be Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Matt Shoemaker and three guys — Hector Santiago, Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano — vying for the last two spots. The likes of Jose Alvarez, Cory Rasmus, Drew Rucinski and Alex Sanabia are darkhorse candidates.

The Angels can go the first time through the rotation without a fifth starter because of a scheduled day off on April 9, after the season-opening three-game series in Seattle. If Richards is ready two weeks into the season, which seems realistic, he’d miss two or three turns.

Despite what Scioscia said and despite Richards being two or three weeks behind his fellow Angels pitchers, Richards told reporters Sunday that he’s keeping opening day in his sights: “That’s not going to change, regardless of what anybody in here says.” Ambition is good, so long as there’s checks and balances.

If last season was any indication, Richards will be essential to the Angels’ hopes of repeating as AL West champs. Richards went 13-4 with a 2.61 ERA before injuring himself while covering first base. His breakout season not only gave the Angels a homegrown front-of-the-rotation arm, but it made him a Cy Young contender.

A guy like that, the Angels would much rather have at full-strength in September than on opening day.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz