The Phillies made a pair of roster moves Sunday morning, placing Vince Velasquez on the 10-day DL and optioning lefty reliever Zac Curtis to Triple A, while activating Pat Neshek off the DL and recalling Jake Thompson from Lehigh Valley.
For Velasquez, it could simply be a way to buy him more time after he avoided disaster Saturday. His next start wouldn't have been until Saturday, July 7 anyway because of off days this week.
Velasquez was struck on the right forearm by a hard line drive off the bat of Adam Eaton, leading to a memorable defensive play and an early exit for Velasquez. X-rays were negative and Velasquez has a right forearm contusion. He said Saturday in the Phillies' clubhouse that he felt "great" but that more would be determined by the team physician Sunday morning.
The return of Neshek comes at a good time, with the bullpen being taxed the last two days and Edubray Ramos and Luis Garcia on the DL. Neshek signed a two-year, $16.25 million contract this past offseason to return to the Phillies but arm injuries have kept him off the field all season. As it turns out, he'll have missed the entire first half.
Neshek has a 2.50 ERA since 2012, and 41 of his 43 appearances as a Phillie last season were scoreless.
