Rotation questions getting sorted out through injuries
Injuries to starting rotation hopefuls Vince Velasquez and Spencer Howard seem to have more or less set the rotation as the Phillies prepare to start the season April 1.
Free agent newcomers Matt Moore and Chase Anderson are your likely lower-rotation starters to begin the season, with Velasquez and likely Howard heading for the bullpen as long relievers.
That said, No. 3 starter Zach Eflin, like Howard, has been battling back soreness. However, Phils manager Joe Girardi said both Eflin and Howard apparently were fine to throw off the mound Sunday.
“I didn’t get a bad report so I have to think everything was OK,” Girardi said. He added that Velasquez, who had command problems in his last start then was sat due to an oblique problem, will likely throw off the mound Monday.
Anderson, 33, had another chance to impress Sunday and was pleased with his outing, even though he allowed four earned runs in 3.1 innings to help the
Phillies on their way to a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. That Anderson outing included a two-out home run in the third inning by meaty Tigers leadoff hitter Akil Baddoo.
Anderson pointed out Sunday he was working on his delivery out of the stretch, which is what he was doing when giving up the homer.
“Overall, my stuff has been really good,” Anderson said. “I’m making good pitches . ... This whole spring, that’s really the only thing I’ve been fighting myself on a little bit, the stretch. But this spring has been a great one. I’ve got all four pitches working as of today, so we’re heading in the right direction, for sure.”
•••
Girardi scratched thoughts of J.T. Realmuto in the starting lineup against the Tigers, but does expect him to be there later this week, maybe as soon as Monday.
“We just have to make sure how he feels tomorrow,” Girardi said. “I’ve got to see where we’re at . ... He just has some general soreness today, so we just wanted to give him sort of a recovery day.”
Girardi said the “general soreness” didn’t have anything to do with what Realmuto has been recovering from all spring, a fractured thumb.
Asked if the cool temperatures in Clearwater also made him think twice about getting Realmuto back into action, Girardi said, “It was chilly. When it’s chillier in Clearwater than it is in Philadelphia, something’s wrong. So there was something wrong today.”
• • •
NOTES >> Girardi said outfielder Adam Haseley, who’s been tending to a groin strain the past couple of weeks, is “possible” for playing later this week . ... Girardi on the speed of Roman Quinn, more or less dueling with Odubel Herrera for a center field job, and entering as a pinch-runner Sunday and stealing a base and scoring: “That’s a tool and a talent he has that not everybody has. It could be an advantage.”