Velasquez 'really optimistic' he'll return in 2023

SEATTLE -- As Vince Velasquez sat at his locker prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Mariners, the health of his right elbow still ambiguous, he took an optimistic tone.

“I can’t really put a timeline on it, but I could honestly say I’m really optimistic about the fact that I’ll definitely throw again before the end of the year,” Velasquez said. “All I can do is control what I can control right now. Get my body right from a lower-half perspective, get my legs going, some cardio and, meanwhile, do a lot of arm care to make sure that stays strong and then go from there.”

The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort after he was removed from his start on Saturday. Velasquez’s outing was his first start off the injured list, which he had been on since May 5 due to right elbow inflammation.

“We need some more information,” said general manager Ben Cherington on 93.7 The Fan on Sunday. “We’re going to spend some time with Vince here in the next few days. We may get another image and get some more opinions on what’s going on. He still is presenting pretty positively, but it’s obviously getting in the way of his pitching and we really have to make sure this is right.”

Velasquez said that he felt good while warming up for his start on Saturday, but he began to feel discomfort toward the end of the first inning. The right-hander went out for the second inning but was removed after he completed the frame, finishing his afternoon with four earned runs allowed on seven hits.

“Just watching him at the end of the second, didn’t look like he was comfortable,” said manager Derek Shelton on Saturday. “Then, after having a conversation with him, didn’t feel like he was in the best spot, so decided to take him out.”

Velasquez is still in the evaluation process, but he does not believe he’ll need surgery, anticipating that he could be back for the second half of the season.

“I don’t want to say that [surgery is] an option, because I don’t feel like that’s the answer,” Velasquez said. “There are obviously other variables that may factor in, but I don’t know what those options are or what the actual final decision is going to be. Like I said, I’m optimistic about the way it feels and how it should feel. Right now, it’s just a tough situation to go through knowing I did everything I needed to do to get ready for an outing. Hopefully, I could pick up from where I left off and build from there. It’s unfortunate it happened.”

Prior to Saturday, Velasquez’s last start with the Pirates was on May 4, when he exited his outing after just three innings. He spent several weeks before making a rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis on May 20, when he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Velasquez said before traveling to Seattle that he felt “mentally prepared and physically prepared.”

Velasquez has dealt with a long-term arm injury earlier in his career, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010 that caused him to miss the entire ‘11 season.

Before placing Velasquez on the 15-day injured list Sunday, the Pirates initially planned to temporarily place Roansy Contreras in the bullpen, Cherington said on Sunday. Contreras was slated to start on Saturday, but the Pirates skipped Contreras’s start in favor of Velasquez.

Contreras has had a bit of an up-and-down sophomore season, posting a 4.50 ERA and 4.63 FIP in his first nine starts. Compared to last season, the 23-year-old is striking out fewer batters (8.15 K/9 in 2022 vs. 6.30 K/9 in ‘23) and walking more batters (3.69 BB/9 in ‘22 vs. 4.14 BB/9 in ‘23). In May, Contreras owns a 5.64 ERA across 22 1/3 innings, recording the same amount of walks as strikeouts (11).

Contreras is not listed as a probable during the Pirates’ three-game set against the Giants. Cherington said it is too early to tell if Contreras will start on Friday against the Cardinals in Pittsburgh.

“We’ll get a little more information with Vince first and explore all our options, but certainly, Roansy is a starting pitcher, long term, in our opinion, and we have confidence in putting him back in there,” Cherington said.