The Philadelphia Phillies were dealt a double-whammy when news hit that both starting pitcher Jake Arietta and relieve David Robertson would be out for the rest of the season.
Arrieta, 33, will have surgery to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow after deciding to opt for surgery despite trying to pitch through the issues recently.
“I wanted to try and make it work for as long as possible,” Arrieta said. “I realized that I’m not able to give the team what it needs. The pain is something I can deal with, but it’s the loss of feel and the ineffectiveness as the outings wear on. I think that the time is right to make it happen now and get a guy in the rotation that has pitched really well for us and give him an opportunity to get back to the form where he was at earlier in the season for us. I think we’ll be in good hands.”
Arrieta posted a 8-8 record with a 4.64 ERA in 24 starts for the Phillies this season.
The news for Robertson was much more bleak.
Robertson, one of the majors best relievers prior to signing with the Phillies in free agency, had Tommy John surgery Thursday and probably will miss all of the 2020 season as well.
The usually durable Robertson was limited to only 6⅔ innings this year.
Despite the surgery typically holding pitchers out for more than a year, Robertson tweeted his hopes to pitch in 2020.
Making matters worse for Philadelphia, the Phillies placed outfielder Roman Quinn on the 10-day injured list Saturday.