SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. – Vince Velasquez was removed from today’s Pirates game with right elbow discomfort. The right-hander had pitched three innings, allowing a run on two hits and a walk, while striking out two.
The lone run by Velasquez came on a solo homer in the second inning against Taylor Walls. That snapped a scoreless innings streak at 19.1 innings for Velasquez.
If he needs to miss any time, the Pirates would likely replace Velasquez with Luis Ortiz. No word yet on the extent of his injury, but this will be updated after the game with more info.
UPDATE 4:31 PM: Velasquez said he was “optimistic” about his status after the game.
“There was a pitch where I felt a little discomfort and kind of loss velocity throughout the third, and I knew I had to mentioned something,” said Velasquez.
After telling the Pirates he couldn’t go anymore, he was removed in what Derek Shelton identified as a caution-based move. The optimism from Velasquez comes from a similar situation in the past.
“I’ve been through a situation like this before,” said Velasquez, who had something like this last in Philadelphia. “I’m glad I stopped when I needed to. If I would have kept going, it probably would have been a little bit more severe.”
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
plan has been for VV to pitch until Ortiz is in the clear with super2
when is Ortiz in the clear? I am ready to see Brito until then
Ortiz has 23 days of service coming in. If you assume the cutoff is somewhere around 115 days (that’s the lowest it’s been in 10 years, but the last 3 years it’s been both 115 and 116), then Ortiz wouldn’t be safe until around July 1 (23+31+31+30+1 = 116).
I don’t think you worry about Super-2 for Ortiz. That’s a 2026 problem. If they need him now, they plug him in, simple as that.
agreed
i didn´t know it was that long away
Well, hope for Vince’s sake this is just like the last time he had something like this and he can keep on keepin on !