Saturday night, Pittsburgh Pirates RHP, Vince Velasquez began his rehab assignment for the Indianapolis Indians against the Chicago Cubs Triple-A affiliate.
Velasquez managed to go 4.2 innings pitched with four hits given up, no earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Velasquez landed on the 15-day IL after his start against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 4 after going just three innings and feeling something in his right arm.
As it turns out, Velasquez suffered some right-elbow inflammation, and after a few days, the Pirates made it clear that this injury was something on the minor side and shouldn’t have any long-term effects.
Sunday afternoon, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke on his radio show on 93.7 The Fan, and gave a little update on Velasquez’s outing and where they will go from there.
“He came out really well. Everything is in line with what Vince was looking like before he went on the IL, that’s the most important thing, and it’s a very encouraging step for him. We have not decided yet as a group on what the next step will be. He certainly looks like he’s not far away. We’ll gather as a group after [Sunday] and talk through that, but very encouraging to see where he’s at.”
Cherington continued.
“He was doing everything we asked him to do when we signed him, and we’re looking forward to getting him back on the mound with us.”
From what Cherington said and how he said it, I wouldn’t be shocked if Velasquez makes one more rehab start in Indianapolis before he comes back up to the Pittsburgh Pirates and becomes a regular in the rotation again.
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