Phillies reliever Pat Neshek’s hamstring injury could cost him rest of season

Pat Neshek was told that he could return from his hamstring injury for the final weeks of the season, but the Phillies reliever also admitted Friday afternoon that his season might be finished.

Neshek said he had an MRI three weeks ago that revealed a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring. The image showed a partial tear and a hamstring that was off the bone, Neshek said. A week later, Neshek received an injection of platelet-rich plasma, which will sideline him from baseball activity for six to eight weeks. That timeline gives him a chance to return in September. Manager Gabe Kapler said the team is “hopeful” Neshek will pitch again this season.

“Well, if I had a setback, there’s a possibility. Yeah, definitely,” Neshek said about possibly not pitching again this season. “The time frame he’s given me, though, is early to mid-September. I’ve never had hamstrings before, so I know I’m on the older side so it’s probably going to be closer to the eight weeks, is what doctors told me.”

Neshek is a free agent after the season. He turns 39 in September and has battled injuries in both seasons of the two-year, $16.25 million contract he signed before last season. He has a 5.00 ERA this season in 20 appearances, the last coming on June 19, his first game back from the disabled list with a shoulder injury. It is unlikely that the Phillies would want to bring back Neshek or that Neshek would want to return. His Phillies career is in his final months. And he might have already thrown his final pitch.