The Phillies bullpen has been working extra in recent days. Long man Brett Oberholtzer gave the Phillies long relief appearances the night of the Vince Velasquez injury and after Zach Eflin failed to complete three innings. With Aaron Nola's short outing last night, the bullpen needed a fresh arm and the Phillies added one on Friday.
After last night's loss to the Blue Jays, the Phillies announced that Colton Murray was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley. The corresponding roster move has yet to be announced. However, Panamanian reporter Elias Gonzalez Ramos reports that Severino Gonzalez received word last night that he is returning to the Phillies.
Gonzalez was rushed to the Major Leagues last season and went 3-3 with a 7.92 earned run average as a starter. Gonzalez never really had a chance to make the Phillies out of Spring Training and started the season at Double-A Reading. Less than two weeks after the season began, Gonzalez moved to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
With the large number of Phillies pitching prospects, Gonzalez has served as a reliever in all but one of his 19 appearances in 2016. Combined, Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 3.07 earned run average. Gonzalez last pitched on Tuesday for Lehigh Valley.
While some wished to write him off after last season, Gonzalez is just 23 years old and does have room to grow. Still on the Phillies 40-man roster, the Phillies will not have to make any other moves to accommodate him. After Alec Asher was placed on the restricted list, the Phillies currently have 39 players on the 40-man roster.
Luis Garcia was optioned to the minor leagues too recently to be recalled.
