Phillies righty Vincent Velasquez was pulled from his start today after just two pitches — neither of which clocked in over 87 mph, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). That’s an ominous sign for Velasquez, who just turned 24 yesterday. He has shown both immense promise and some inconsistency, but overall has looked like an important piece of the organization’s future by throwing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. The team is calling it right biceps soreness for now, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce any concern. It’s too early for a full assessment, of course, but the fact that the former Tommy John patient has a problem in the elbow area is troubling.
Here’s some other news form the National League:
- The Marlins are “pessimistic” about their chances of inking ace Jose Fernandez to a long-term pact, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He has been at peak form since returning from his Tommy John surgery, especially of late, and the club appears to think he wouldn’t bite at the $25MM AAV put on future free agent seasons in Stephen Strasburg’s recent extension.
- Superstar Giants catcher Buster Posey is dealing with an irritate nerve in his right thumb, but he suggests it’s an injury that can be managed (video link via KNBR). Posey, 29, is hitting well below his career rate over his first 212 plate appearances, though he’s still humming along at a productive /.257/.316/.450 clip.
- Cardinals infielder Jhonny Peralta sees his move to third base as more than just a temporary switch, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Soon to turn 34, Peralta says that he could find a home at the hot corner. “I know I am getting older and you have Diaz being younger,” he said, “so third base might be my future. I have a future there. Hopefully, I’ll play it as well as I need to play it. It could be my fit.” As Goold notes, the front-loaded structure of Peralta’s contract leaves the team on the hook for just $10MM next year. Peralta will hit the open market again thereafter. He has maintained his offensive production since signing with St. Louis, posting a .269/.336/.429 batting line over 1,272 plate appearances.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the organization has seen some promising signs from veteran righty Justin Masterson, MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports, though there’s still work to be done. “You still see the life in the fastball,” said Huntington, “but it’s not the mid-90s power-sink that Justin had when he was so successful. We’re still working to get him back … to get the mechanics to where he’s comfortable with them and build the arm strength. We’re still in that phase.”
If Velasquez does require Tommy John, and I’m seriously hoping he doesn’t, that would set the Phillies rebuild back quite a bit. Part of the reason the Phillies have hung around this year has been because of Velasquez and their other young rotation arms so here’s hoping it’s not too serious.
We’re deep enough for another kid to fill in. He wasn’t gonna last till August anyway
I don’t think he meant for this year.
Peralta is a very underrated defender and will be fine at third. His only defensive weakness is his range and that won’t be as much of an issue at third.
I don’t think he’s underrated. Everyone seems to know that he’s solid in the field as in he makes the routine plays. He may not be flashy but he makes the plays he’s supposed to
Where does carpenter go?
He has moved back to second base where he belongs.
If Velasquez does end up needing surgery, though my uneducated opinion after watching it is that he doesn’t (what do I know), I’d rather him get it now rather than, say, start of next year.
I’m not a Phillies fan but I concur.
The link goes to the wrong Jose Fernandez
People tend to forget that the Indians tried to make him a third baseman before he left for Detroit. He ended up not fielding OR hitting until the Tigers put him back at SS. Maybe it’ll be different this time…
Him = Peralta
This means Adam Morgan might have to stay!! :(
Eflin and Lively seem ready. Asher also ready. Thompson not far behind. Not worried about pitching
Let’s play over/under # of months before Jose Fernandez is traded. I’ll set the bar at 6 months. Over or under?
Over
Nobody is going to pay the ridiculous price the Marlins are asking for, if it was more realistic then yes but no way anybody ships their half their top prospects for him
I believe someone will at the Winter Meetings simply because of the lack of any starting pitchers on the market this year. For example, I could see the Cubs making a big time move if they don’t win the WS this year.
I think Fernandez will be traded this offseason in large part due to how bad the free agents are this year