Categories: 2020 Phillies Round-UpInjuriesNews

Phillies Round-Up: Update on Álvarez, Velasquez’s new role

Last Thursday in Buffalo, José Álvarez suffered one of the more brutal injuries we’ve seen in a while.

José Álvarez is currently on the IL. (Photo by David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

He took a 105.3 mph hit straight to the groin. He recovered in time to get the out at first, but immediately fell to the ground. Álvarez had to be taken off the field on a cart.

At the time of the injury, Álvarez was hopeful that he would be fine in “a couple of days” but the Phillies opted to place him on the 10-day injured list with a testicular contusion.

According to Joe Girardi, it could be a while until Álvarez takes the mound. He told Phillies beat writers, including Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic, that he won’t pitch for two weeks. Those two weeks date back to when he suffered the injury on Thursday. After that, he’ll have to build back up his strength, which could take an additional two weeks. If that time table holds, he won’t be back on the mound until Sept. 17.

It’s a tremendous blow to the Phillies bullpen, who are still the league’s worst group by far. The 31-year-old was the Phillies’ best reliever. He began the year with six consecutive scoreless appearances and holds a 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Álvarez is also set to become a free agent at the end of this season. Missing a significant portion of the 2020 season could also lower his future market value.

Vince Velasquez Moves to the Bullpen

After Sunday night’s victory, Girardi announced the three starters who will take the mound against Washington: Jake Arrieta Tuesday, Aaron Nola Wednesday and Spencer Howard Thursday. That leaves Vince Velasquez without a spot in the rotation.

Girardi told reporters earlier today that Velasquez has been moved to the bullpen.

“We would definitely use him long,” Girardi told Phillies beat writers, including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury. “If we needed him short, I would not be afraid to do that either.”

From Sept. 8 to the 18th, the team has four scheduled doubleheaders for a total of 14 games in 11 days. They will need him to start a couple of those games, so Girardi intends on keeping him stretched out as a starter.

Alec Bohm Gets First Start as Designated Hitter

Alec Bohm’s transition to the big leagues on the offensive side has been rather seamless. The same cannot be said for his defense. In 82 1/3 innings at third base, he has committed three errors and is worth -2 defensive runs saved. He has looked both uncomfortable and less than confident in his instinctive decision-making abilities at the hot corner.

He’s getting his first start on Tuesday night as the designated hitter. Girardi told the media on Sunday that he had not discussed the possibility of Bohm getting reps as the DH with Jay Bruce out and Jean Segura holding up well at third base. The Phillies manager spoke about his impressions of Bohm’s defense after Friday night’s game after he was charged with two errors.

“The last couple of days, he’s had some throws that have kind of gotten away from him,” Girardi said. “He had a tough play coming in [on Friday] and I think he had probably let that carry over and I’m not even sure if he’s able to make that play. The biggest thing is we’ve got to get him back in the field and do some work.”