Ranger Suarez, sidelined since the second week of March with an elbow injury he's been rehabbing carefully, is set to begin a rehab assignment Thursday at Double A Reading.
The Phillies want Suarez to make "three or four" rehab starts, according to manager Rob Thomson.
"For me, I'd like to get him to 90 or 100 (pitches) so that he can come back and have a regular start," Thomson said Tuesday afternoon as Suarez was wrapping up a bullpen session.
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SIGN UP HERE That would put Suarez on track to rejoin the Phillies either during their trip to Colorado and San Francisco May 12-17 or during the homestand that follows against the Cubs and Diamondbacks.
The return of Suarez, who has a 3.01 ERA in 41 starts the last two seasons, will be a boost to the Phillies' pitching staff in more ways than one. Beyond the consistency he can bring to the middle of the rotation, it will almost certainly shift left-hander Matt Strahm back into the bullpen role he was initially signed to fill.
Strahm has been more than just a little effective in his four starts -- he's struck out 26 in 17 innings and allowed only 10 hits with a 3.18 ERA. He's pitched well enough to make you wonder if the Phillies might consider continuing to start him even upon Suarez' return, but the key number is 45. Strahm pitched 45 innings last season. The Phillies aren't going to triple that. He's likely headed back to the bullpen, where he can give Thomson another versatile option in the middle or back end of games.
Gregory Soto, for example, has appeared in the sixth or seventh inning in nine of his 12 appearances. How many of those might have gone to Strahm the first few weeks if the Phillies were fully healthy in the rotation? Adding one more late-inning option to the mix who is also capable of pitching multiple innings could go a long way in terms of keeping the core four relievers -- Soto, Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez and Craig Kimbrel -- fresh.
MLB
Thomson did say that "everything is on the table" when asked last week about the possibility of temporarily using a six-man rotation to ease Suarez back into the rotation, but if the plan is to stretch Suarez out to 90-100 pitches in the minors, that becomes less likely.
Nelson also headed to Reading
In other injury news, long reliever Nick Nelson (hamstring) shifts his rehab assignment to Reading on Wednesday, where he is expected to go three innings and throw 55 pitches.
Change of plans for Seattle
The Phillies opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night. Tough young right-hander Logan Gilbert was initially scheduled to start but he's been moved back a day. Instead, the Phillies face soft-tossing veteran lefty Marco Gonzalez in the series opener.
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