Jered Weaver to miss 4-6 weeks with broken non-pitching elbow

Jered Weaver is out 4-6 weeks with a broken non-pitching elbow. (Brandon Wade/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver left the mound Sunday night in a loss to the Texas Rangers with an injury to his non-pitching elbow, and on Tuesday the team reported that the right-hander will be out for at least the next month and possibly up to six weeks with a non-displaced radial fracture (broken left elbow).

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that the initial X-ray showed that there isn't a break, so the news Tuesday may have come as a surprise to the Angels. Garrett Richards is expected to slide in as Weaver's replacement and the newly acquired pitcher Dane De La Rosa from the Tampa Bay Rays will take Richards' spot in the bullpen.

Weaver, 30, said immediately after the game that the elbow is "pretty painful" and he thinks he definitely "hyperextended" it, according to the Fox Sports report:

“It’s pretty painful. It feels like a really bad jam. I definitely hyperextended it or something.”

Last season for the Angels, Weaver finished with a 20-5 record and a 2.81 ERA. As Rosenthal points out, Weaver was the first pitcher since the Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax in 1963 and '64 to win at least 10 games with an ERA below 2.00 in back-to-back seasons.