Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Oswalt has left the team due to personal reasons.
UPDATE: The Phillies have issued statement saying Oswalt left the team out of concern for his home and family in wake of tornadoes and severe storms in Mississippi. The team is “hopeful” he will return for his next start.
“There has been a tremendous amount of tornado activity near Roy’s home in Mississippi resulting in several tragic deaths and significant devastation to the area. Because of this, Roy is concerned about his family’s well-being. He has chosen to take time to make sure there wasn’t significant damage to his home, but more importantly, to make certain that his wife and children are okay.
Oswalt was ineffective in his start Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks allowing 5 runs in just 3 innings. It was just the second time in his career that he pitched 3 or more innings without recording a strikeout.
The right-hander left a start back on April 15th due to back spasms. After successfully making his next scheduled start on April 21st, Oswalt stuggled on Tuesday causing many to question whether he was still injured.
Oswalt left the stadium and was not available to the media after the game further fueling that fire.
However Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied that Oswalt’s absense is due to injury by simply stating that his leave is not health related.
Amaro gave no timetable on when Oswalt will return to the team. He simply told reporters, “We expect him to be back.”
Oswalt is from Weir, Mississippi where a tornado and group of storms hit over the past two days.
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