Phillies: Seranthony Dominguez among 7 non-tender candidates
By Matt Rappa
1. Vince Velasquez
Vince Velasquez remains as the last remaining piece from the December 2015 trade that sent closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros. It seems as if he has been held onto longer than most other pitchers would have, just because the Phillies want at least some return on investment from the swap.
MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki thinks Velasquez “might be on the bubble,” as he made $3.6 million in 2020, “but the Phils could go in another direction, even though they are remarkably short on starting pitching depth.”
This past season, the six-year veteran struggled with a 5.56 ERA, 1.559 WHIP, and 21 earned runs allowed spanning 34 innings, seven starts and two relief appearances. Overall in red pinstripes, Velasquez has gone 27-34 with a 4.76 ERA across 112 appearances, 99 of which were starts.
Considering the Phillies’ new pitching coach Caleb Cotham is on board, the Phillies may try to give Velasquez one more chance to find his place and succeed on their big-league roster. Velasquez did strike out 46 batters in 34 innings this past season. Talent is there; he just has not been able to translate that success through other statistical categories — ERA being among them.
It will be interesting to see which, if any, of the Phillies’ seven arbitration-eligible players will be non-tendered ahead of the December 2 deadline.
Right-handed relievers Blake Parker and Heath Hembree, southpaw Adam Morgan, and infielder Phil Gosselin were also arbitration-eligible, however, they were outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency in late October. Morgan recently had surgery to repair his left elbow’s flexor tendon and will miss a significant portion of the 2021 season.
The Phillies offseason continues on — quietly, so far.
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