“At this point, you have to watch for fatigue and signs as much as you’ve ever watched for in a season, just because players aren’t going to be in the shape they would have been had they had a normal spring training. So you have to be really smart.”

So what does intelligent deployment of a staff look like under these circumstances? There’s no way to know at the moment. Girardi said that he and Bryan Price, the Phillies pitching coach, plan to use a five-man rotation. But without the usual six or seven starts that they would get while in Clearwater, those pitchers will instead throw during batting-practice sessions and intrasquad games, simulating the conditions that they’re likely to face once the real games begin: throw 20 pitches, sit down for a few minutes, then return to the mound to throw some more.

If a starter gets to 60 pitches, or a few more than that, in a game, Girardi would consider it a job well done. And with major-league rosters having expanded to 30 players for the first two weeks of this season – that number will gradually decline to 26 – Girardi will have more arms and options at his disposal. He’ll likely need them.

Of the four players the Phillies already have placed on the COVID-19 Related Injured List, three are pitchers: Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, and Ranger Suarez. And because of the unorthodox nature of a compressed season, the chances that pitchers will suffer more traditional injuries have presumably increased. “You have to be responsible and understand where your pitchers are, how far your starters are built up, and what workload they’re capable of having,” Girardi said. “You can’t ask them to do more than they’re capable of.” The trick will be figuring out the right request.

Titlehungry wrote:Never been a more pleasant surprise to me than just how awesome a person Bryce Harper is...

heyeaglefn wrote:@ToddZolecki: Aaron Nola, Adam Haseley and Christian Bethancourt are not in camp yet. #Phillies cannot give an explanation why.

Squire wrote:Economically it would kinda make sense for Haseley to opt out. Those pre-arb players make very little and he would still get a year of service I think. That being said I don't think it would be good for his long term development to miss a whole season of playing.

jerseyhoya wrote:They have the COVID, per Girardi

CalvinBall wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:They have the COVID, per Girardi

Showing symptoms? Doing well?

Alex Carr @AlexCarrMLB

As Joe Girardi (nearly) informed us earlier today — Aaron Nola, Adam Haseley, and Christian Bethancourt have been placed on the COVID-19 Injured List.

That’s certainly a blow.