Velasquez headed to DL, will miss rest of season

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-toeight week recovery, giving Velasquez a full offseason to prepare for what looks to be an increasingly pivotal spring.

The 25-year-old Velasquez is 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 of the year. Velasquez also missed a month and a half with a right elbow flexor strain.

“He had his ups and downs,” manager 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.”

Triple-A reliever Yacksel Rios replaced 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 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.”