Velasquez to open season as No. 3 starter
Nola set for opener; Velasquez to open season as the No. 3 starter
PHILADELPHIA » Entering spring training, Vince Velasquez was in a severe fight for the No. 5 spot in the Phillies’ pitching rotation.
Exiting summer camp, he had won the No. 3 position.
Though as much a function of the rhythm of the camp and the dynamics of the early schedule as a distinct promotion, Velasquez has shown Joe Girardi enough to be a starter in the first series of the season.
According to the manager Wednesday night, Aaron Nola will open the season Friday night (7:05) against visiting Miami. Saturday afternoon at 4:05, new father Zack Wheeler will start. Velasquez will pitch Sunday 1:05.
Originally projected No. 3 starter Jake Arrieta, who was hit around in the first inning of an intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday before settling, will pitch Monday at 7:05 against the visiting Yankees. Zach Eflin, who has battled back spasms, is ticketed as the No. 5 starter but will be better evaluated after throwing a simulated game Thursday.
“Part of it was Jake’s schedule,” Girardi said. “We wanted to give everybody the same off-days. So if Vinny had pitched Game 4, he would have had a long time before his next start. So it just seemed to work better from a scheduling factor.”
Just the same, Velasquez’s effectiveness in the dual camps solidified his spot in the rotation at the expense, at least early, of Nick Pivetta.
“We just really liked the improvement that Vince made between the first spring training and the second spring training,” Girardi said. “He pitched OK in the first spring training, and the development of some of his pitches, the cutter and the changeup in particular, we liked the way he competed on a daily basis and he fits really well. That’s why we made that decision.”
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For the $20 million they will pay him this season, and because of the way he recovered from elbow surgery, Arrieta was all but assured of a rotation spot.
Arrieta allowed five hits in the first inning Wednesday, including a two-run double to the left-center wall by Jay Bruce. But he settled.
“Kind of a normal final tune-up before the season starts,” Arrieta said. “I got to 88 pitches. I faced a few more hitters. But it was really hot today. It felt good to get worn out, get the pitch count up, get the up-anddowns that we wanted going into my first game. I am looking forward to recovering and going into Monday. It was good. I didn’t have a great changeup, but everything else was good. Overall, today looked good.”
Girardi: “He struggled a little at the beginning, but he got stronger. It’s what I wanted to see at the end. His stuff was really sharp. And these are intrasquad games. Sometimes you don’t have quite the same thing that you would in a regular game. So I feel good about Jake.”
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The season will start Friday and J.T. Realmuto is still unsigned beyond 60 games (and, perhaps, a postseason.)
Bryce Harper, something of the catcher’s campaign manager, gave it one last offseason sales pitch Wednesday.
“I want what’s best for the organization. And everyone in that clubhouse wants what’s best for the organization, from top to the bottom,” Harper said. “We have guys who control that who want that as well. So J.T. is the best for our organization to set us up long term to win the World Series. And I think we can do that.”
••• As Opening Day nears, there remains the possibility that 16 teams, not 10, will qualify for the postseason.
In a season with dramatically unbalanced schedules, that would be a boost to the N.L. East and A.L. East teams that will play only each other.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Girardi said. “If you’re going to have playoff and if you’re going to have wild-card teams, you want somewhat balanced schedules and teams crossing over and playing the same teams. Well, that’s not going to happen this year. So I am all in favor of expending the playoffs, if just for that reason.”
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NOTES » Wheeler and his wife Dominique welcomed a new baby boy Monday night, Girardi shared. That removed the possibility that the right-hander would need an early-season paternity leave … Scott Kingery hit a home run in the scrimmage … There will be no formal workout Thursday, though Eflin will throw the simulated game. “We want him to get four innings and about 60 pitches, and come out healthy the next day,” Girardi said. “I think that’s how we will evaluate Zach.” … If Eflin doesn’t recover well, Pivetta will begin the season as the No. 5 starter.