Nava proving his worth — here and elsewhere
Ah July, the time of year where many aging Phillies play for their just reward... Getting out of here. So the team that brings you Jeremy Hellickson crossing his fingers for a second straight season approaching the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline (good luck with that this year), along with sure-fire tradebaiter Howie Kendrick, we have this year’s left-field deadline candidate, Daniel Nava.
Yet he really is one of the few who simply feels lucky to be here.
The Phillies, who decided to give Nava a chance in spring training simply because ... well, why not? ... feel lucky he’s in their midst while usual leadoff hitter Cesar Hernandez remains out with an injury. Nava had three hits in four trips to the plate Wednesday night amid an otherwise typical 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
While raising his batting average to .313, he has generated renewed interest in himself, hitting safely in 25 of the 27 starts he’s made this season.
Not bad for a guy who has bounced between the minors and majors his whole career, and who came to Clearwater as a non-roster invitee. But Nava doesn’t want to get caught up now in any talk about going elsewhere.
“I’ve been in situations where you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Nava said, “such as being in spring training and not knowing if you’re making the team. Those things are so far out of my control, the more I think of those things the worse it is for me.
“I know that’s something I can’t control. What I can control is coming to the yard, preparing myself to play and go out there and doing the things I can, like getting good at-bats and putting myself in good positions.”
Nava is already an anomoly in the clubhouse, since he’s 34 and has a degree in psychology. But any guy who went from being a 5-foot-5 high school graduate to tenured major league baseball player (the Phillies are his fifth team) has learned to gain any internal advantage he can find.
“The journey I’ve taken (this season), it’s not something that’s foreign to me,” Nava said. “I’ve been here many times before. I guess it’s a positive, a silver lining. I’ve been (thankful) for every day I have. Every day I put on a jersey.
“I’d love to know where I’ll be set, but that’s just not how things are. So at least it’s something that I’ve experienced before, you know?”
*** Vince Velasquez, out since May 30 with a right elbow flexor strain, will pitch for Reading in a rehab outing Thursday at Trenton. Mackanin seemed cautiously optimistic that Velasquez could be back shortly after the All-Star break.
“We’ll see what he Mackanin said.
If Velasquez does work his way back, there is a thought that the Phillies — who have been encouraged by the work of call-up starters Ben Lively, Nick Pivetta and Mark Leiter Jr. while Zach Eflin, Velasquez and Jerad Eickhoff have been on the disabled does tomorrow,” list — might see fit to put Velasquez in the bullpen.
The hard-throwing right-hander is 2-5 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.460 WHIP. But Mackanin said he hasn’t thought on it deep enough to go to general manager Matt Klentak.
“We’ve been throwing that around in the coaches room, wondering,” Mackanin said. “I haven’t really discussed it with Matt . ... I don’t know. I don’t think there’s any plans to put him in the bullpen right now, based on what I’ve heard.”
What’s perhaps more likely? Lively goes back to Lehigh Valley. With a fourth-inning implosion Wednesday night that ended his evening very early, he not only lost his fourth game in five decisions, but may have lost his spot in the rotation since Eickhoff and Velasquez are nearing returns.
*** Eickhoff is likely to return to the mound Sunday after missing three starts with a sore back. He is winless in seven decisions with a 4.81 ERA . ... Mackanin said he talked briefly with Klentak about keeping Mark Leiter Jr. around for bullpen work after Eickhoff returns. But they haven’t reached a decision on whether to do that or send him back to the IronPigs. “I think he can help us,” Mackanin said.