As expected, the Phillies have named Sean O’Sullivan their starting pitcher for Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals. O’Sullivan will oppose Max Scherzer, who signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals in the offseason.
O’Sullivan, a 27-year-old right-hander, has pitched in the majors with the Angels, Royals, Padres and Phillies. He made two spot starts with the Phils last season and 25 at Triple A Lehigh Valley.
O’Sullivan is not on the 40- or 25-man roster, so the Phillies will have to make some roster moves before Sunday’s game.
O’Sullivan is basically holding down the fifth spot in the rotation until Chad Billingsley is ready to go. Billingsley, who has recovered well from two elbow surgeries, will ramp up his comeback when he starts for Lehigh Valley on Friday night. He is expected to throw in the neighborhood of 50 pitches or four innings.
Billingsley will need a few starts to build his pitch count to 100. If all continues to go well, he could be ready to join the rotation later this month or early next month.
Billingsley is excited about Friday night’s start.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve been performing and recovering,” he said. “My arm is feeling good. This is my spring training right now. I’m facing hitters, working on command and setting up hitters.”