The Phillies signed Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to a three-year, $12 million contract last August. His time with the team hasn’t gone according to plan. Due to the right-hander’s struggles defecting from Cuba, he hadn’t played competitive baseball for a long time when he showed up to Clearwater, Florida for spring training. What the Phillies saw was a pitcher far different than the guy they had scouted over the prior year, and Gonzalez ended up needing time on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.
Delaware Online’s Chris Branch reports that Gonzalez is ready to head out on a rehab assignment after some very positive reports came back to the Phillies on his progress. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro said Gonzalez was topping out at 95 MPH on his fastball, much better than the high-80’s fastball Gonzalez was throwing in spring training.
Gonzalez will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday and get the ball rolling on his professional career. It will still be a while before the Phillies could reasonably utilize him, but they’re desperate to fix up the bullpen — their 4.68 bullpen ERA currently ranks as the fourth-worst in baseball.
