Suárez Bullpen Session Canceled, Leaving Phillies Opening Day In Doubt
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Ranger Suárez appeared to be ready to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies in the first week of the regular season.
That date is likely to be pushed back.
The Phillies canceled a bullpen session by Suárez on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., because of inflammation in his left elbow.
Suárez hasn’t thrown since March 8 when he left Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic with forearm tightness.
“I can’t say no, but I’d say there’s a strong possibility that he won’t be ready (by Opening Day),” Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters after a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in a Grapefruit League game on Wednesday. “But it’s not out of the question. We just shut him down for a couple days. We’re not really concerned about it, but we want to knock that out and get him back on the mound soon.”
Thomson added that a magnetic resonance imaging test showed no structural damage to Suárez’s elbow. Suárez is expected to start throwing again in a few days.
If Suárez opens the regular season on the injured list, Thomson does have options.
“I mean, I think we got it covered,” Thomson said. “I really do. We still have guys like (Minor League starter James) McArthur on the roster. And we can stretch some other guys out that are here. (Luis) Ortiz is a one-plus (inning) guy. We're probably going to get him to two at some point. So we've got some options. But not a true starter, I would say.”
For now, this doesn’t appear to be overly concerning. But the Phillies would be wise to take it slow. Suárez is too important to the success of this franchise.
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