Phillies Place Velasquez on the Disabled List

Once again, the Phillies will be without starting pitcher Vince Velasquez.  The right-hander departed Friday night's game after just one inning with what he called numbness in his middle finger.   With what looked like a bruise on that finger - without a real explanation given - Velasquez was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Friday night.

For now, utility player Ty Kelly returned to the Phillies to take Velasquez's roster spot.  The Phillies had an extra pitcher on the roster after adding starter Zach Eflin and disabling catcher Andrew Knapp.  Eflin replaced Jake Thompson in the starting rotation, who was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and replaced with Ricardo Pinto, who remains in the Phillies bullpen.

The 2017 season was to be an important one for Velasquez, who frequently is criticized for compiling high pitch counts quickly and not going keep into ballgames.  Unfortunately for the Phillies, the long-term future for Velasquez has not been made clearer by the 2017 season in which Velasquez is 2-7 and a 5.13 earned run average and spent now two separate stints on the disabled list.  The Phillies gave no indication to how long this stay on the disabled list might last.

The Phillies will need another starting pitcher by the time Velasquez's turn in the rotation comes back around on Tuesday.  Ben Lively, who made seven starts for the Phillies in 2017, is a good bet.  Lively last started Thursday night and would be on track to start Tuesday.  The IronPigs list Tom Eshelman as the IronPigs' starter on Tuesday after a Monday off day, but Wednesday's start in Lively's spot is listed as TBD.