After signing a one-year, $1 million with the defending world champions last week, Martinez threw a 64-pitch simulated game on Tuesday in Clearwater, Fla., marking a “really big step” forward, as he told ESPN.com.
A week ago, Martinez indicated that his time in Philadelphia could be
something of an experiment — and whether it would be positive or
negative was still up for debate. But after Tuesday’s outing, it seemed
like all of Martinez’s own indications pointed toward positive.
After facing hitters for the first time in 11 days, he told ESPN.com that the outing was, “real, real good. Four innings, I was able to do that. I didn’t feel tired. I felt like I could still do a little bit more.”
He faced 20 batters, earning six strikeouts.
Upon signing with the Phillies, the 37-year-old right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder strain. The timetable for his return is still unclear, but he is scheduled to throw off a mound on Thursday, and if all goes to plan, he’ll throw another simulated game or pitch in a minor league game on Sunday.
“I thought it went very well,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told ESPN.com. “The ball seemed to be coming out of his hand much better, I think, in the second two innings than the first. I was impressed with his ability to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes.”
In typical Martinez fashion, he didn’t deflect any of the praise. He agreed with it.
“I’m not disappointed with the way things went,” he said. “I didn’t have a spring training and I’m still throwing strikes. To me, [Tuesday] was a plus.”
