Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Velasquez hits DL, needs procedure on arm
PHILADELPHIA » Vince Velasquez’s season invariably draws descriptions like “up and down.” Tuesday, “over” was added to that list.
Velasquez was placed on the 60-day disabled list as he awaits a procedure on his upper arm to restore normal blood flow to the middle finger in his throwing hand.
General manager Matt Klentak expects the surgery to carry a six-to-eight week recovery, giving Velasquez a full offseason to prepare for what looks to be an increasingly pivotal spring.
The 25-year-old Velasquez was 2-7 with a 5.13 ERA in 15 starts this season. He struck out 68 batters in 72 innings against 34 walks. He went six innings or deeper just five times and recorded just three outs Aug. 10 against the Mets in his last appearance. Velasquez also missed a month and a half with a right elbow flexor strain.
“He had his ups and downs,” Pete Mackanin said. “He showed some progress. I was hoping to see him down the stretch to see how well he advanced. Unfortunately, because of the injury we’re not going to be able to tell.
“I don’t want to call it a lost season, but it’s a shame that he couldn’t finish up.”
Reliever Yacksel Rios was promoted from Class AAA to replace Velasquez on the roster. Nick Pivetta was added as the 26th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader with the Miami Marlins, starting the nightcap.
One thing Velasquez will carry into spring training is a hefty vote of confidence from the Phillies’ brass. Though consistency — not just to recapture the 16-strikeout form shown in his second Phillies start of 2016 but to regularly escape the fifth inning without a ballooning pitch count — has proven elusive this season, Klentak is still enamored of weapons in Velasquez’s arsenal that few possess, including a fastball he described as “God-given.”
“The thing with Vince is every time he pitches, we see that big fastball that generates swings and misses at an elite rate, particularly when it’s up in the zone,” Klentak said. “And as long as we keep seeing that from him, we know that this guy can be an impact major-league pitcher. He’s had his fair share of setbacks throughout the year and really throughout his professional career, but we still believe really strongly in his future and think he has a chance to be a really impactful big-league pitcher.”
Velasquez went 8-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 24 starts in 2016, striking out an average of 10.44 hitters per nine innings after his acquisition from Houston in the Ken Giles trade.
Aspects of Velasquez’s approach — the dropoff from primary to secondary stuff, his live fastball and strikeout rate — suggest an enticing bullpen project. But Klentak isn’t ready to give up on Velasquez as a starter.
“We do still think that Vince possesses all the ingredients to be a top-notch major-league starter,” Klentak said. “That would be our hope.”
That comes with the caveat that the organization will be wary about his innings again in 2018. Velasquez was limited to 131 innings in 2016 and was shut down after one September start. Klentak believes monitoring Velasquez’s workload will be necessary given his susceptibility to injury.
Mackanin said he hasn’t begun conversations about Velasquez’s career trajectory. But like many managers, he is a stickler for starters who can regularly carry the ball deep into games.
“He’s done some good things, let’s put it that way,” Mackanin said. “It’s unfortunate. One of the things you want to see, especially from a starter, is durability. He hasn’t been durable because of various reasons. That’s something we have to keep an eye on.”
Klentak will remain patient, as warranted by Velasquez’s flashes of brilliance.
“I think the reason that we continue to have confidence in Vince is because we believe he has the talent level to do things that not a lot of other people can do,” Klentak said. “And for that reason, we’re going to give him as many chances as we need to find out.”
••• The other pitcher trip to the DL was less dramatic Tuesday, with Zach Eflin shelved due to shoulder discomfort.
The righty lasted five innings in his last start, a loss in San Francisco last Friday. Already due to miss his next turn in the rotation, the organization put the 23-yearold on the DL for what Klentak expects to be a “minimal” stint to get an extra arm.
Eflin is 1-5 with a 6.16 ERA in 11 Phillies starts in 2017.
All the machinations have shaken up the rotation. Aaron Nola and Pivetta started in Tuesday’s double dip, with Mark Leiter Jr. (1-3, 4.38) on tap for Wednesday. Klentak let it spill that Jake Thompson (1-1, 4.20) will likely be called up to start Thursday’s series finale with the Marlins. Jerad Eickhoff (3-7, 4.46) will be pushed back a day to start Friday’s series-opener against the Cubs.
Rios, a 24-year-old native of Puerto Rico, is 1-3 with a 1.92 ERA in 56.1 innings split between DoubleA and Triple-A, including a 1.96 ERA in 13 outings at Lehigh Valley.
With all the Triple-A pitchers swelling the Phils’ ranks, the club is reportedly close to a deal with Henderson Alvarez on a minor-league contract. While Klentak wouldn’t confirm that the deal was finalized, he envisions Alvarez bolstering Lehigh Valley’s rotation.
The 27-year-old Venezuelan was 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA in seven starts with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Alvarez was 27-34 with a 3.80 ERA in five seasons with Toronto and Miami before injuries sidetracked his career. He was 12-7 in 2014, making the All-Star game with the Marlins.