NL East Notes: Halladay, Phils, Harvey, Scherzer, Lee

Roy Halladay is in camp with the Phillies as a particular visitor teacher this week and tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com that he’s having fun with his time working with the group’s youthful pitchers. Halladay, who additionally coaches his son’s 12-U group and his different son’s varsity highschool group, appears to take pleasure in passing his information on to youthful arms however tells Lawrence that he’s not but positive if this present place will result in a extra everlasting function with the Phillies group. “I feel that’s one thing we’re nonetheless speaking about,” the previous Cy Younger winner tells Lawrence. “There are all types of choices. … I’m going to take pleasure in this primary week right here, being a visitor coach, and see the place issues go. We’ll proceed speaking, however, you understand, I feel it’s at all times looking for a superb match, too.” Younger Philadelphia righty Jake Thompson lauded Halladay’s baseball acumen and defined to Lawrence that he and the group’s different younger arms relish the chance to study from top-of-the-line arms of the previous era.

Right here’s extra from the NL East…

• The Phillies could have hoped that Thompson (wrist) and fellow righty Zach Eflin (knee) have been a bit additional alongside of their harm rehab timelines by this level, however a minimum of the membership is seeing progress, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Each are throwing dwell BP periods, with the potential of reaching recreation readiness by subsequent week. Eflin says he’s feeling stronger than ever as he continues working again from surgical procedure to each knees, whereas Thompson says he’s wholesome however is “nonetheless knocking off a little bit rust.” It stays to be seen whether or not both can be able to open the season on time, however certainly each are destined for Triple-A regardless.


• Matt Harvey’s spring debut for the Mets didn’t go as hoped, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. There’s little motive to get too caught up within the uninspiring outcomes, after all, significantly since Harvey says he was coping with a stiff neck. (That might be its personal supply of concern, although apparently it’s only a low-level downside and Harvey expects to make his subsequent begin.) The larger concern, maybe, is that Harvey was restricted to working within the low-90s along with his fastball. That, too, could be chalked as much as the neck together with the truth that Harvey continues to be dialing in his mechanics after a protracted layoff. Membership sources inform Ackert they don’t need the prized righty to come back out of the gates too shortly anyway.


• Nationals ace Max Scherzer felt good in a dwell BP session at present, as Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com reports. The veteran righty continues to be utilizing a three-fingered fastball grip to guard his injured finger, however that doesn’t appear to be slowing him down. Scherzer labored as much as 44 pitches within the session, so it appears as if he might be prepared quickly for a Grapefruit League look.


• One other Nationals hurler, lefty Nick Lee, is taking a look at a a lot lengthier absence. As Kerzel tweets, the 26-year-old has been identified with a non-displaced fracture in his left arm. Lee hoped to spend the spring working to search out the management that lengthy has eluded him. Final yr, he labored to a four.32 ERA over fifty Double-A frames, putting out 9.9 and strolling 7.6 batters per 9. The Nats clearly like his arm, as he had been added to the 40-man earlier than dropping his spot final summer time.