PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Bucs second-best starting pitcher this season is back on the mound throwing. We had been hearing bits and pieces of positive news but Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk confirmed on Wednesday Vince Velasquez is already back throwing.
The veteran right-hander left the game in Tampa Bay last week with elbow discomfort. There were fears he could join starting pitchers JT Brubaker and Mike Burrows with long-term elbow injuries. The 30-year-old will throw a live batting practice session early next week. After that, if things go well.
“Probably he’ll go get a rehab assignment,” Tomczyk said. “That’s still being discussed but probably since we’re in May and we need him to pitch into August, September and, hopefully, October, we think the right thing to do for him, short term and long term, is to get some type of rehab outing but nothing has been firmly established but I would project that.”
Velasquez was 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in seven starts with the Pirates this season-34 strikeouts, 13 walks in 35.1 innings and a 1.16 WHIP.
Cruz update
For those looking for a miraculous faster return, it won’t happen with Oneil Cruz.
However, the Bucs shortstop continues on the four-month projection as he is a little over four weeks after surgery on his ankle. The X-rays are good, the swelling is down and he is doing upper-body exercises. Cruz won’t be able to put weight on his ankle for another month.
“I know he’s itching to get back,” Tomczyk said. “That’s for sure. A lot of it is going to depend after that on the transition from weight bearing to non-weight bearing and how that ankle responds. We’re optimistic right now but as you’ve heard me say a million times, we want Oneil back when Oneil is ready. If it’s this year, which we believe it will be, that’s awesome for Oneil, that’s awesome for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But we also want him to be a Pittsburgh Pirate for a long time and out there dominating on the field.”
“So right now we’re still in line with that four month but I think we’ll learn more once he gets out of the boot.”