The Phillies are in the midst of a four game losing streak. They are 2-7 over their last nine games and now sit four games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. They were just swept by a terrible Arizona Diamondbacks team and have been playing some of the worst baseball I have ever witnessed. That of course, is saying a lot coming from a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade. Even with a miserable week, there’s still hope for the Phillies as key players should be returning to the lineup soon.

Zach Eflin

Zach Eflin was placed on the 10-day injured list way back on July 20th with tendinitis in his right knee. He will begin a rehab assignment with the Reading Fightin Phils on Saturday. Ideally, Eflin will experience no setbacks and rejoin the Phillies early next week.

Rhys Hoskins

Rhys Hoskins, a key piece of the Phillies lineup, is very close to returning. He has been running bases and fielding ground balls while traveling with the team in Arizona. Hoskins is batting .244 with 24 homers, 68 RBIs and an .841 OPS this season. He was hitting .329 with a 1.195 OPS in 25 games since July 3 before going on the IL. Hoskins received a cortisone injection on August 13th to speed up the recovery process and hopes to be available as soon as tomorrow when the Phillies head to San Diego to face the Padres.

Freddy Galvis

The Phillies traded for Freddy Galvis at the MLB trade deadline, however Freddy has been on the injured list since June 27th. He began a rehab assignment with Triple A Lehigh Valley earlier this week and has gone 2-for-7 so far in 2-game rehab stint with a single and a home run. It looks like Galvis will be more on track to join the Phillies with Zach Eflin early next week rather than this weekend as Rhys Hoskins hopes.

Jose Alvarado

Alvarado had an MRI on August 11th and according to the Phillies it was a good report from the doctors office. His shoulder is fatigued, but he’s hopeful that some time off with help his issues heal more quickly. Alvarado threw a long-toss yesterday and hopes to throw a bullpen session as early as tomorrow in San Diego.

Help is definitely on the way, but regardless, the Phillies desperately need to turn things around against a struggling San Diego Padres team this weekend. Not only have the Phillies fallen out of first place, but they had the opportunity to make up ground in the Wild Card race with San Diego going 1-7 over the last week. They are now five games back from the last Wild Card spot, held by the struggling Padres.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY