Angels P Jered Weaver to visit spine specialist after neck tightness

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver will visit a spine specialist on Monday after being diagnosed with mild degenerative changes in his cervical spine.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver will visit a spine specialist on Monday after being diagnosed with mild degenerative changes in his cervical spine, reports Mike DiGiovanni of the Los Angeles Times. 

Weaver, 33, was limited in spring training action last week after dealing with stiffness in his neck. An MRI on Thursday revealed the condition in his spine.

He will be scratched from his scheduled start on Monday, but the team is not that concerned about him moving forward.

"It's not alarming because Jered is not in a lot of pain," General Manager Billy Eppler said to the Times. "It's more like a stiffness that has limited his range of motion."

The team has not considered surgery moving forward, and hopes to find a proper treatment program after the specialist can look at Weaver’s neck.

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"The degenerative changes, those are real, but we don't have all of the information. That's why we're going to send him to a spine specialist for some tests before putting him on a treatment program," Eppler said.

Weaver went 7–12 with a 4.64 ERA in 26 starts last season. He has spent the entirety of his 10-year Major League career with the Angels, going to three All-Star games and finishing as high as second in the American League Cy Young voting.