J.T. Realmuto out of lineup with shoulder inflammation; Vince Velasquez officially released

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is not in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs, despite the team having been off Monday.

Ahead of Tuesday’s tilt, manager Joe Girardi told the collective media, including Jack McCaffery of The Delco Times, that Realmuto continues to manage right shoulder inflammation. After Sunday’s game, Realmuto received an injection in the ailing shoulder, and the Phillies are hopeful that the three-time All-Star will be able to return to the lineup Wednesday. Of course, last night they probably hoped he would be good to go for the series opener.

Realmuto has not had an MRI on the shoulder, but he has met with three of the team’s doctors, who believe he’ll be able to manage it for the rest of this season. There’s no indication at this time that he’ll require any offseason procedures to correct things.

The 30-year-old is wrapping up his third season with the Phillies, but just the first in a new five-year/$115.5 million deal. He’s slashing .262/.349/.434 with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs and a 4.1 fWAR. Realmuto continues to grade out well as a framer, though after having 12 defensive runs saved in his Gold Glove Award season of 2019, he has -2 defensive runs saved in 2021.

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The Phillies announced Tuesday evening that Vince Velasquez has cleared waivers and been released by the team. That brings an official end to what was a disappointing tenure that spanned parts of six seasons. In 133 games (116 of which were starts), Velasquez went 30-40 with a 4.93 ERA and 4.59 FIP.

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