Sports Talk Philly: Philadelphia Sports News and Rumors

Has Vince Velasquez Earned Back The 5th Spot in the Starting Rotation?

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By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Staff

One of the Philadelphia Phillies' major problems this season has been the lack of a consistent fifth starter in the starting rotation. 

Vince Velasquez opened up the season as the team's fifth starter, going 1-2 with a 3.99 ERA in six starts before he went on the injured list with a right forearm strain. He has the best stuff on the mound of any of the potential candidates for the fifth starter's spot, although it is well documented that he struggles with keeping his pitch count low and going deep into games.

Flyers Re-Sign D Travis Sanheim to 2-Year Deal

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers have already made a lot of changes to the roster this offseason through trades and the signing of free-agent Kevin Hayes after acquiring his rights. They still had six restricted free agents to sign as the week leading to free agency began.

The first of those players has signed. Defenseman Travis Sanheim has re-signed with the Flyers on a two-year deal worth $6.5 million, an average annual value of $3.25 million.

Flyers Announce 2019 Development Camp Roster, Schedule

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The NHL Draft saw seven new prospects join the Flyers organization. The first chance to see the top picks comes this week, when the Flyers open up development camp for prospects.

This is not only a chance to see the newest draft picks, but also top picks of years past as well. In total, 41 prospects will be part of the development camp that will run over five days from Tuesday, June 25 to Saturday, June 30.

Why Ignoring the Second Round of the NBA Draft Results in More Pressure in Free Agency

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Free agency is going to be an important time for the Philadelphia 76ers, and not necessarily for the reason many would think. In addition to the team having to make decisions on key free agents Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick, they also will have to worry about making sure they field a complete roster with an improved bench from last season. 

General manager Elton Brand ensured that the 76ers would be heavily reliant on free agency to fill out its roster when he traded away three of the team's four second-round draft picks in Thursday night's NBA Draft.

As of Sunday morning, the team has only five players on its roster. Philadelphia was in desperate need of some more bench scoring as well as an improvement at the backup center position. With a boatload of second-round picks in their cupboard, many believed that the team would be able to address some of these problem areas. However, they came away from the draft with only Matisse Thybulle (see story) and Marial Shayok.

Fletcher's 1st Draft with Flyers Turns Out to Be a Good One

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's GM Chuck Fletcher's first offseason with the Flyers, and it's safe to say he hasn't pulled all the right strings to please fans starving for competitive hockey. Trading for the rights to Kevin Hayes and signing him to a seven-year deal, and making two more trades for Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun are not moves that move the needle and generate a whole lot of interest up front for a fan base that feels like they have seen this episode before.

So on Friday night when 72-goal scorer Cole Caufield fell into Fletcher's lap not only at the 11th overall pick, but again at 14th after a trade, there was understandable disappointment when the Flyers selected defenseman Cam York instead of the exciting prospect in Caufield.

For fans, it was another strike. But to a lot of people in the business, it was a home run. York is regarded as arguably the second-best defenseman in the draft behind Bowen Byram, who was selected fourth overall, and gives the Flyers a new headliner on the blue line in the prospect pool with so many prospects having graduated to the NHL.