By Sam Bush
Do you want a true gauge of how bad the Phillies pitching situation is?
They’re giving Vince Velasquez another shot.
They offered the 28-year-old right-hander a contract before last night’s 8 p.m. ET deadline to tender deals to players eligible for salary arbitration. Velasquez was a non-tender candidate, based on his inconsistencies the past four seasons and a projected $4.55 million salary, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, while the organization cuts costs and personnel after claiming losses of more than $150 million following a pandemic-shortened 60-game season.
In the end, the Phillies’ lack of starting pitching depth pushed them to keep him.
The Phillies agreed to one-year contracts with right-handers Seranthony Domínguez ($727,500), Zach Eflin ($4.45 million), David Hale ($850,000) and Héctor Neris ($5 million) and catcher Andrew Knapp ($1.1 million), avoiding arbitration with those players. The Phillies also tendered a contract to first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
