Joe Girardi confirmed the obvious on Thursday.
Jake Arrieta is done for the remainder of the regular season with a right hamstring injury.
An MRI performed on Wednesday confirmed the original diagnosis of a Grade 1 strain. Arrieta went on the 10-day injured list later that day. Even if he made a quick recovery, he would only have been eligible to return on the second-to-last day of the season and it would have been unrealistic for him to be ready by then.
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SIGN UP HERE So maybe Arrieta is done as a Phillie.
Or maybe he's not.
"We hope to get him back for the playoffs," manager Joe Girardi said.
The Phillies entered Thursday night's game against the Mets at 24-24 with 12 games to play. They were tied with San Francisco for the eighth and final National League playoff spot.
MLB
Making the playoffs is no sure thing for the Phils. But at least they control their own destiny.
Arrieta, 34, will be a free agent after the season. It will be his second time hitting the open market. He first became a free agent after the 2017 season, two years after he won the NL Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs. Arrieta at first sought a deal numbering seven years and the Phillies had no interest in a contract like that. The pitcher lingered on the market until the second week of March 2018 before his ask came down to a manageable three-year guarantee. The Phillies then moved on a deal that guaranteed Arrieta $75 million over those three seasons. He made $30 million in 2018, which at the time was the highest one-year salary ever for a Philadelphia pro athlete.
Arrieta pitched brilliantly in May 2018 — he had an 0.90 ERA in five starts — but otherwise struggled with inconsistency and injury during his time in Philadelphia. He was 22-23 with a 4.36 ERA in 64 starts and he averaged 5.5 innings per outing. He went 4-4 with a 5.08 ERA in nine starts this season.
It's safe to say that the Phillies hoped for more when they made their investment in the pitcher.
Arrieta also ended last season on the disabled list after requiring elbow surgery.