Garrett Richards

Garrett Richards

36-Year-Old PitcherP
 Free Agent  
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Garrett Richards in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Rangers in March of 2022. Released by the Rangers in August of 2022.
Hits free agency
PFree Agent  
August 23, 2022
Richards cleared waivers and was released by the Rangers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Richards was designated for assignment by Texas last week and is now on the open market. The veteran right-hander has a 5.27 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 36:13 K:BB across 42.2 innings this season, and he's likely to generate some interest in free agency.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-12%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
-12%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .243 80 12 6 18 3 1 0
Since 2022vs Right .277 105 24 7 26 9 0 3
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Left .243 80 12 6 18 3 1 0
2022vs Right .277 105 24 7 26 9 0 3
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Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-38%
ERA on Road
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
-38%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 6.29 1.56 24.1 0 1 1 7.4 3.3 0.7
Since 2022Away 3.93 1.04 18.1 1 0 0 7.9 2.0 0.5
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Home 6.29 1.56 24.1 0 1 1 7.4 3.3 0.7
2022Away 3.93 1.04 18.1 1 0 0 7.9 2.0 0.5
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Garrett Richards See More
MLB Barometer: Risers & Fallers
July 18, 2022
Erik Halterman offers thoughts and lessons learned from his fantasy teams so far this season, plus Shohei Ohtani features as his first riser of the week.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
July 17, 2022
Erik Siegrist reviews the AL free-agent pool heading into the All-Star break and thinks Leody Taveras could be emerging as a star.
Mound Musings: The Endgame Odyssey Continues – American League
May 26, 2022
Brad Johnson discusses AL bullpens with question marks still remaining, like in Boston where Matt Barnes has closer ability but continues to struggle.
The Z Files: Sometimes, Crime Does Pay
May 20, 2022
Todd Zola examines the league-wide stolen-base environment and identifies some speedy players who could be valuable as streaming options, including Andres Gimenez.
FanDuel MLB: Friday Targets
April 29, 2022
Chris Bennett likes the look of a Yankees bat stack Friday against Kansas City.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Last year's shortened schedule was expected to benefit oft-injured players, who only had to stay healthy for 60 games rather than a full 162. In Richards' case, that proved to be true, as he remain healthy all year to throw 51.1 innings, an impressive tally given that he averaged just 36.8 innings per season over the previous four years. He didn't do anything all that special in those frames, posting a fine but forgettable 4.03 ERA, but it was a positive just to see him have an uninterrupted run of games. His K% did dip to a below-average 21.6%, however, well below his 26.4 K% from the previous three seasons. Unless he suddenly reverses that decline in his age-33 season, his upside will be mediocre at best. Combining a modest ceiling with a history of poor health doesn't make Richards the most appealing fantasy option, but he should be at least a fine deep-league choice as long as he stays healthy.
The Padres are hoping to get out of Richards what the Rays got out of Nathan Eovaldi. Both pitchers were signed to two-year deals knowing the first year would be a rehab year. Richards actually came back and pitched in three starts, and struggled as one would expect a pitcher to do 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi didn't pitch in his rehab year, but pitched well enough in the final year of his deal to earn a big payday. Richards is hoping to do the same despite not having pitched more than 80 innings in a season since 2015. The pitcher Richards was before all of the injuries would be ideal in this new environment, as he was very tough to elevate and still generated strikeouts. The strikeouts have been there the past two seasons, but so have the walks and the home runs, which is not the version the Padres nor fantasy owners want. The prototypical wild card; he could be good or an early cut.
Richards' situation makes for a strong case against going the rest-and-rehab route in lieu of surgery. He was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his elbow in 2016, and rather than have him go under the knife, the Angels made the decision to try an alternative treatment plan of plasma and stem-cell injections. Nerve irritation in his biceps cost Richards most of 2017, and after more elbow trouble last season, the team finally caved and sent Richards for Tommy John surgery in late July. Given the timing of the procedure, Richards is not expected to make it back until 2020. In his 76.1 innings with the Angels in 2018, he continued to show good fastball velocity, but the pitch was straight most of the time -- FanGraphs attributed a negative value to the offering. There is still a shred of dynasty-league appeal here, but Richards will be close to 32 years old by the time he's healthy for the Padres, and it's no lock that his stuff will be the same post-surgery.
It's been a long two years, but the signs are there for Richards to get his career back on track, provided he escapes injury for the first time since 2015. In 2016, Richards was diagnosed with a torn UCL, which he rehabbed with plasma and stem-cell injections in lieu of Tommy John surgery. Last season, Richards had to leave his initial start due to nerve irritation in his biceps and remained sidelined until early September. After he returned, Richards impressed, finishing his abbreviated campaign with a 2.28 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 27.2 innings, fanning 27. More encouraging than the small-sample success was Richards was sitting at 96 mph, where he was a couple years ago when he was tabbed as an emerging ace. With just 62.1 frames under his belt since 2015, Richards will have his innings monitored, which is one reason the Halos are considering using a six-man rotation. Where to draft Richards is up to your own weighing of risk versus reward. His upside is an SP3 in mixed formats.
Following an off year, Richards returned to his ace-caliber form in 2016. He came out of the gate hot, posting an excellent 2.34 ERA and a 0.5 HR/9 while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning over his first six starts. Things went south as he left his first May start due to what ultimately was diagnosed as a torn UCL. Richards opted to avoid Tommy John surgery through the use of plasma and stem-cell injections. The 28-year-old even got back to throwing against live hitters in late September and was clocked at 95 mph during his final instructional league outing, which seems to show that he's back at full strength. His control still wasn't outstanding by any stroke of the imagination (3.89 BB/9), but if he can stay healthy while fanning batters at a high clip and keeping the ball in the park, Richards could climb into the league's elite starting pitching echelon. Understandably, the Angels plan to closely monitor his workload in 2017.
Richards was in the mix for the AL Cy Young in 2014 before a season-ending knee injury, but he posted a pedestrian 7.6 K/9 rate in 2015 along with a 3.3 BB/9 rate, leading to a 3.65 ERA in 207.1 innings following his return in late April. In attempting to discover what led to the decline in effectiveness, we can see that Richards' HR/FB rate tripled (4.0 percent to 12.0 percent), while his fastball and slider weren't nearly as effective according to runs above average. Despite this, his swinging strike percentage and first strike percentage both showed a slight increase, which could mean the strikeouts will head back up in 2016. Richards was unquestionably a disappointment for those who paid the price following the breakout, but could return to a value pickup in the middle rounds, as he will head into 2016 completely healthy.
Richards was well on his way to completing the breakout campaign owners were hoping for before a rather innocuous looking cover play at first base in a game against the Red Sox in August led to a torn patellar tendon for the 26-year-old, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Prior to the injury, Richards had tallied a 2.61 ERA with 164 strikeouts in 168.2 innings. There was no dramatic change in Richards' pitch profile last season, but the hard-throwing righty managed to gain velocity on his fastball, which was clocked at an average of 96.3 mph. He also was stingy with the home run ball, allowing just five homers all of last season. The Angels are hopeful that Richards will be ready for spring training after initially giving him a six-to-nine month timetable for his return, but there may be a question of whether he can repeat his 2014 performance after the injury.
Richards had something of an eventful 2013, as he began the year as a long reliever, was moved to the starting rotation twice, and even picked up a save on the season. Though he was initially replaced by Jerome Williams in the rotation after he struggled in late April and early May, Richards received his second chance after Joe Blanton was removed from the rotation. Richards flourished the second time around, pitching to an ERA of 3.59 after the All-Star break, with a 2.8 BB/9 during that time. Though his composite numbers are not very impressive, Richards' performance down the stretch compelled general manager Jerry Dipoto to bestow upon him a rotation spot in 2014 before the end of last season, but in order to be more than a true fourth or fifth starter, the hard-throwing 25-year-old will have to get back to the strikeout numbers he posted in the lower levels of the Angels' minor league system.
Richards started nine games for the Angels last season and made 21 appearances out of the bullpen, compiling a 4.69 ERA and 47:34 K:BB over 71 innings. He was considered to be the best pitching prospect in the organization at one point, but it may be time to re-evaluate that given his low strikeout rates in the major leagues and upper levels of the minors. Despite the worrisome numbers, one also has to consider how quickly Richards has been rushed through the Angels' system, tossing just 143 innings at Double-A and 77 innings at Triple-A. Richards is likely to begin the season at Triple-A after the Angels acquired several veteran starters, but he should be the first pitcher called up if there's an opening.
A big 2011 season established Richards as the Angels' top pitching prospect. Richards went 12-2 with a 3.15 ERA and 103:40 K:BB ratio in 22 games, including 21 starts, with Double-A Arkansas. Richards will likely open 2012 with Triple-A Salt Lake. He will be challenged in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but with four pitches in his arsenal, expect him to be up to the task.
Richards followed up a strong rookie season by striking out 149 batters and walking just 43 in 143 minor league innings last season. Richards is still a few years away from the big leagues, but he has top-of-the-rotation stuff with a four-pitch repertoire that includes a mid-90s fastball, two breaking pitches and a developing changeup. He may be the Angels' top pitching prospect heading into the 2011 season.
More Fantasy News
Booted off 40-man roster
PTexas Rangers  
August 17, 2022
The Rangers designated Richards for assignment Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Rescues Rangers with save
PTexas Rangers  
July 14, 2022
Richards earned the save against the Athletics on Wednesday, retiring the only batter he faced on one pitch.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss as opener
PTexas Rangers  
April 30, 2022
Richards (0-1) took the loss Friday as the Rangers fell to Atlanta 6-3, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning of work.
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Serving as opener Friday
PTexas Rangers  
April 28, 2022
Richards will serve as the opener ahead of primary pitcher Spencer Howard during Friday's game against Atlanta, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
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Effective as opener
PTexas Rangers  
April 24, 2022
Richards struck out one in two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk in a 2-0 loss Sunday in Oakland. He did not factor into the decision.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Mets potentially interested?
PFree Agent  
August 23, 2022
Richards has connections to the Mets' front office and could be of interest to the franchise after being cut by the Rangers on Tuesday, speculates Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
ANALYSIS
Richards could reunite with former Angels GM Billy Eppler, who was hired in the same role by the Mets last season. The pair overlapped in Los Angeles from 2015-2018. Richards has logged a 5.27 ERA across 42.2 innings this season, but his 4.35 expected-ERA, plus a change of scenery, could be enough for New York to roll the dice on the 34-year-old.
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