Left-hander Mike Zagurski was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies announced today. Zagurski takes the roster spot of right-hander Vance Worley, who was optioned to Lehigh Valley following yesterday’s game in Washington, D.C.
This is Zagurski’s second recall this season, having previously appeared in two games for the Phillies in April. With Lehigh Valley, the 28-year-old was 1-0 with nine saves and a 1.88 ERA in 14 games. He had 23 strikeouts in 14.1 innings (14.4 SO/9.0 IP) and was holding opponents to a .196 batting average.
Worley, 23, went 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in six games (four starts) for the Phillies this year and 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA in five starts for Lehigh Valley.
It sounds like the Phillies are just trying to get Worley’s arm stretched out again after two lackluster performances following a long layoff. He’ll be able to do that in Triple-A. Plus, it helps that the Phillies have a Thursday off day, meaning they won’t need a fifth starter until June 8. And even at that time, they could go with Kyle Kendrick, giving Worley even more time to get his pitch count and stamina back.
