Phillies' Jake Arrieta Not Expected to Pitch Again in 2019 After Being Shut Down Due to Bone Spur

The Phillies have just been dealt a crushing blow to their starting rotation depth.

Veteran starter Jake Arrieta is not expected to pitch again for Philadelphia in 2019 after being shut down due to a bone spur in his right elbow. He's scheduled for an MRI on Thursday.

He's likely going to have surgery on the elbow, which would undoubtedly take him out for the rest of the year.

The marble-sized bone spur had been bothering Arrieta for a healthy chunk of the season, and it showed up in his stats. He's managed an underwhelming 4.64 ERA, his highest single-season mark since 2013, through 24 starts.

It also seems to have affected his velocity. Arrieta's average sinker velocity sits at 92.5 mph this year, according to Baseball Savant. That's his lowest average velocity on that pitch in the last five years.

Without him, the Phillies are going to have a tough time finding innings at the front of the rotation. Though he had an up-and-down year, he managed 135.2 innings of work, trailing only Aaron Nola for the team lead.

Losing him in mid-August also deals a crushing blow to their already slim playoff odds. Sitting at fourth in the NL East, Baseball Reference only gave the Phillies an 8.4% chance of making the playoffs heading into Wednesday, and that was before the loss of Arrieta.