Vince

Velasquez

The right-hander underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow in early June, so this move was inevitable. It was made on Friday in order to free up a spot for top prospect Nick Gonzales to join the 40-man roster ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Marlins.

The writing seemed to be on the wall after Velasquez exited a late-May start due to right elbow discomfort. It’s a tough development for the upstart Pirates as the 31-year-old journeyman was excelling this season in his Pittsburgh debut. There will be more details on his status in the near future, but he’ll be sidelined until the 2024 campaign.

Velasquez was pulled from Sunday’s start after just two innings after experiencing right elbow discomfort. He missed several weeks this season with inflammation in the same elbow. Velasquez told reporters on Sunday that he expects to pitch again this season but will take longer to return from the injured list this time around. Cody Bolton was recalled and will take his place on the active roster.

That’s never what you want to hear. Velasquez returned from the injured list on Saturday after missing several weeks due to inflammation in that same elbow. He surrendered four runs on seven hits in his two frames prior to exiting. Velasquez is currently undergoing treatment on it, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the right-hander head right back to the injured list. Stay tuned.

Velasquez draws the starting assignment for Saturday’s showdown against the Mariners at T-Moblie Park in Seattle following a three-week absence due to right elbow inflammation. The 30-year-old righty has excelled this season in his Pittsburgh debut, posting a strong 3.06 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 34/13 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings (seven starts). There’s definitely some streaming appeal here for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.

Pittsburgh opens a three-game series on Friday against the Mariners in Seattle and it seems highly likely that it’ll be rookie Luis Ortiz, who is slated to take theblll on Sunday afternoon, being jettisoned from the starting rotation. The 30-year-old righty has been out since early May due to right elbow inflammation.

Saturday’s contest marked Velasquez’s first start since landing on the injured list with right elbow inflammation earlier this month. He generated eight swinging strikes across 63 pitches for a 30 percent CSW. His velocity was down two mph on all his pitches, and with the Pirates away on a long road trip to the west coast, he could make one more start before the Pirates place him back in the rotation.

Velasquez has only missed two turns since landing on the IL with inflammation, so one rehab start should be sufficient. That would put him in line to rejoin the Pirates rotation late next week.

Velasquez left his start last week with elbow inflammation and was placed on the injured list afterwards. If he throws well early next week, he could rejoin the Pirates’ starting rotation in late May without needing a rehab assignment.

It’s not a big surprise after Velasquez was forced to make an early exit from Thursday’s start. He downplayed the issue after, but the Pirates should provide more clarity on his status and timetable after sending him for additional tests.