In spite of the results in his one rehab start, which saw him give up nine hits, three walks, and 11 runs, all earned in 4 2⁄3 innings for the Potomac Nationals before he was lifted after getting his work in (83 pitches), Jeremy Hellickson told reporters he felt he was ready to return to the major league rotation.
“I feel ready to go,” Hellickson said. “I felt my stuff was pretty good. I feel 100 percent. My command was pretty shaky. My command really wasn’t there. I’ll try to pick up where I left off.”
He didn’t know what the next step would be at that point, but Hellickson traveled to Tampa Bay with the team, and he said the hamstring injury that landed him on the Disabled List in early June, was finally behind him.
“I felt fine,” he said of his outing with the P-Nats, as quoted by Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes.
“Felt my stuff was pretty good. Just command was a little shaky, but [my] hammy was 100 percent.”
Hellickson was unbeaten in nine starts (2-0) before suffering the hamstring injury one batter into his June 3rd start in Atlanta, with a 2.28 ERA and a .219/.258/.361 line against in 43 1⁄3 IP with two earned runs or less allowed in eight of nine starts this season.
Hellickson was reinstated from the DL this afternoon, with the Nationals optioning Sammy Solis to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster, and the veteran right-hander will take on the Phillies tonight after pitching in Philadelphia last season, putting up a 4.73 ERA and a .261/.315/.495 line against for the Phils before he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
Apparently Solis, who was the only reliever with options remaining in the bullpen was not thrilled with the decision:
Solis wasn’t happy. Said he was upset. Felt like he’s put it all on the line this season after appearing in 40 of the Nationals’ 80 games and not feeling great a lot of those days. But he said he understands it’s a business decision.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) June 30, 2018
Hasn’t been announced yet, but Sammy Solís has been sent to AAA. He was the only one in 9-man bullpen with options. He’s obviously not pleased but hopes it could allow him to ease his workload and be fresher when he returns later.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) June 30, 2018
Two other moves as well, if you’re keeping track:
#Nationals: Jeremy Hellickson returns from 10-Day DL; Sammy Solís optioned to Triple-A Syracuse; Raudy Read reinstated from the restricted list; optioned him to Triple-A; and Ryan Zimmerman transferred to the 60-day DL.
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) June 30, 2018