4 players who could replace Matt Moore in the Phillies rotation

Apr 14, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Vince Velasquez (21) pitches against the New York Mets during the eighth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Vince Velasquez (21) pitches against the New York Mets during the eighth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The “Matt Moore experiment” hasn’t necessarily gone according to plan for the Philadelphia Phillies thus far. While they’re *technically* 2-1 when the left-hander makes a start, Moore has been far from productive on the mound in his return to the MLB.

Through three starts for the Phils, Moore has a 9.82 ERA and a 2.364 WHIP. Obviously not numbers you’d typically expect out of your fourth starter.

While Joe Girardi stated that Moore would be making his next scheduled start following his disaster outing on Saturday, one or two more bad showings and my guess is that the Phillies would look to replace the southpaw.

The Phillies could look to replace Matt Moore sometime soon.

There are a few different names they could turn to:

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Vince Velasquez

The most likely name to crack the Phils’ rotation moving forward, as annoying as it may be, is Vince Velasquez. The painfully frustrating right-hander was brought back this past offseason due to his versatility to stretch out as a starter, which is exactly what the Phillies are in the market for at the moment.

The “Vinny Velo” experiment has long run its course in Philadelphia, and he hasn’t been much better than Moore this season – albeit operating in a reliever role.

Through 4.0 innings this year, Velasquez has allowed four earned runs and walked an eye-popping eight batters.

Velasquez’ struggles aside for the moment, slotting him back into the rotation would be a rather seamless move for the Phillies to make. Vince has started 106 games in his career, and it wouldn’t require some sort of roster transaction to be made by the front office.

Would Vinny give the Phillies better production than the before mentioned Moore? Eh, probably not.