DUNEDIN, Fla. — Monday was a busy day at Phillies camp.
Let’s get right to it:
A week before opening day, the Phils picked right-hander Vince Velasquez over lefty Adam Morgan for the final spot in the starting pitching rotation (see story).
“We like what we saw out of Velasquez and we want to give him an opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level,” manager Pete Mackanin said in the morning.
Velasquez backed the Phils’ decision later in the day by pitching six shutout innings against the Blue Jays. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out eight.
"Coming into spring training, I set a high goal for myself and that was to break camp (with the big team)," Velasquez said. "To find out the goal has been accomplished — it doesn't stop there, I have to continue to set goals and achieve them — but on that note it's pretty exciting."
Velasquez finished Grapefruit League play with 24 strikeouts and seven walks in 20 innings.
MLB
Phillies officials did not want to mess with Velasquez's concentration before he faced Toronto’s rugged lineup so they did not tell him of their decision until after the game.
He had found out already on social media.
So the Phillies' season-opening rotation will be Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola, Charlie Morton, Jerad Eickhoff and Velasquez. The order in which Eickhoff and Velasquez will pitch has not yet been determined.
• The Phillies went with Velasquez's power and upside over Morgan’s steady hand. Morgan left camp with his head high — and justifiably so. Performance-wise, he was the Phils’ top starter in camp, allowing just two runs in 12 innings.
Morgan did not make a fuss over the decision, but that doesn’t mean he was happy with it.
“I'm upset about it, but there's nothing I can do about it,” he said. “It's out of my control. I thought I was doing a good job, but there's always room for improvement.
“Not really getting an answer is probably the hardest part,” Morgan added.
The pitcher said he asked club officials the reasons for their decision and their response was: “Just keep working.”
• Mackanin announced the obvious: Cody Asche will begin the season on the disabled list.
The assignment can be backdated so Asche, who is recovering from an oblique strain, could return during the second week of the regular season.
With Aaron Altherr and Asche out, the Phillies had been searching for outfield help. That search led them to sign veteran Will Venable to a minor-league deal Monday. He had opted out of his deal with the Cleveland Indians when it became clear he would not make that club.
Venable will join the club Tuesday and is expected to play extensively until rosters have to be set over the weekend. The Phils have two openings in the outfield and four players competing for them: Venable, David Lough, Cedric Hunter and Emmanuel Burris.
• The bullpen remains unsettled after probables Dalier Hinojosa, Jeanmar Gomez, David Hernandez and lefty Brett Oberholtzer. Lefties James Russell and Daniel Stumpf seem to be in good shape. Edward Mujica, Andrew Bailey and Ernesto Frieri are all still in the mix.
Mujica informed the club Saturday that he intends to opt out of his contract if he’s not on the roster. The club had 48 hours to respond, so he will learn his fate on Tuesday. In fact, the entire bullpen situation could be clearer Tuesday.
"It's a little crazy," Mujica said after pitching a scoreless inning and striking out two on Monday.
It always is the final week of camp.