Phillies put Jose Alvarado on injured list with elbow inflammation; Bryce Harper out of lineup

MIAMI — Phillies reliever José Alvarado hasn’t looked like himself lately, and on Sunday, the potential reason for that was revealed. The Phillies placed Alvarado on the 15-day injured list before Sunday’s game with left elbow inflammation (retroactive to Friday).

Alvarado said it had been lingering for a while. He said it started after the Phillies’ off day in Chicago on June 26, and that it felt like different from the pain he felt from the elbow inflammation that sidelined him in May.

This time, he felt the inflammation in the upper part of his forearm.

“I don’t really know what it is anymore; the trainers don’t know what it is anymore, but we’re taking it as inflammation,” Alvarado said.

» READ MORE: Phillies get some good news from tests on Andrew Painter’s elbow

He said he doesn’t expect to miss more time than he did when he was placed on the injured list on May 10 and was out about a month. He has not taken a platelet-rich plasma injection and has not gotten an MRI.

He added that he’s not concerned. Manager Rob Thomson doesn’t have much concern, either.

“Like I said the other day with [Andrew] Painter, there’s always some concern, but it’s basically the same thing he had before,” Thomson said. “Some inflammation in the elbow and you’ve just got to calm it down, knock it out.”

Thomson said it’s possible that Alvarado’s control issues were a byproduct of his inflammation. Since returning from the injured list, he has a 2.31 ERA with 12 hits, nine walks, and 15 strikeouts in 11⅔ innings. Before that stint on the IL, he had a .063 ERA with nine hits, no walks, and 24 strikeouts in 14⅓ innings.

» READ MORE: Phillies prospect Mick Abel dominates on the mound, eats a grasshopper at MLB Futures Game

In a corresponding move, the Phillies recalled right-handed reliever Andrew Bellatti from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Bellatti has a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings with Lehigh Valley after posting a 5.32 ERA in 12⅔ innings with the Phillies.

A few innings after Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch on his surgically repaired right elbow on Saturday, he exited the game. After the game he said he was sore, and wasn’t sure if he’d play on Sunday. He and the Phillies decided to be cautious and have him sit out Sunday’s game. It’s possible he might be available to pinch hit.

Josh Harrison jammed his right wrist Saturday and came in feeling sore Sunday. The Phillies scratched him from the lineup a few hours before the game and had Cristian Pache play center field and Brandon Marsh play left. … The Phillies’ rotation will line up like this after the All-Star break: Cris Sánchez against the visiting San Diego Padres on Friday, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suárez in the doubleheader on Saturday, Zack Wheeler on Sunday, and Aaron Nola on July 18 against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. … Thomson said the Phillies will reassess top pitching prospect Painter after the All-Star break. Recent tests showed that the tear in his right elbow is healing. …

Double-A Reading right-hander Mick Abel flashed 99 mph in his start at the MLB Futures Game on Saturday night in Seattle, pitching one scoreless inning with two strikeouts in the NL’s 5-0 victory. The Phillies’ other representative, low-A Clearwater center fielder Justin Crawford, went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and a sacrifice fly. Thomson didn’t watch it but heard about Abel’s performance. “Abel was, I guess, outstanding,” Thomson said. “Ninety-eight, 99 mph, two strikeouts, it’s good. Good for him.”

The Phillies’ first-round draft pick in 2020, Abel washed down his eye-opening performance by eating a spiced grasshopper — an unusual concession item on sale at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — during an in-game interview with MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM.

Abel, No. 35 on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list, has a 4.75 ERA in 13 starts for Reading. Control continues to be an issue. He has 70 strikeouts but 35 walks in 60⅔ innings.

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