Brandon Marsh injury update and a look at the Phillies options in the outfield if he hits the injured list
Philadelphia Phillies centerfielder Brandon Marsh tried to climb the wall and keep a baseball from leaving the park in the third inning of last night’s game and came down awkwardly on his knee.
Brandon Marsh had this to say in the Phillies’ clubhouse after the game:
“It didn’t look pretty but I’m feeling optimistic and spirits are high,” he said. “I’m keeping the positive energy. They did some testing right after it happened and had some decent reviews.
“It was a bang-bang play, one of those things where you’re going for a ball and kind of have to sacrifice your body a little. I just came down a little weird on it. I was pretty scared at first. But it calmed down a little bit and I’m feeling good.” via NBC Sports Philly
Today, we have somewhat of an update on Brandon Marsh. Todd Zolecki is reporting that there is in fact, no immediate update and we likely won’t find out until Friday if Marsh needs to hit the injured list.
Assuming that Brandon Marsh will hit the injured list, the Phillies will need to figure out a replacement in the minor leagues to recall from Triple A Lehigh Valley.
Outfield options in Triple-A on the 40-man roster are incredibly thin. As Todd Zolecki mentioned, Simon Muzziotti suffered a season-ending ACL tear over the weekend so you can remove him from available options.
That leaves you with just Jhailyn Ortiz as the only other true outfielder on the Phillies 40-man roster.
The Phillies also have utility players Yairo Muñoz and Johan Camargo available on the 40-man in Lehigh Valley that could possibly play outfield.
Ortiz is currently at Double-A Reading and having a decent season, but it’s hardly anything to write home about. The 23-year old is slashing .247/.326/.431 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, and a .757 OPS.
Adding Ortiz will give the Phillies another right handed bat, but he’s hardly a centerfielder and plays primarily on the corners, so that doesn’t really solve the issue at hand.
The Phillies could also look to add someone to their 40-man roster.
For those unfamiliar on how that process actually works, here’s a quick rundown.
If a club with a full 40-man roster wishes to promote a Minor League player that is not on the 40-man roster, it must first remove a player from the 40-man roster — either by designating a player’s contract for assignment, trading a player, releasing a player or transferring a player to the 60-day injured list.
Scott Kingery has MLB experience and can play centerfield if needed. However, Kingery has continued to struggle in the minor leagues, batting just .199 on the season with five home runs, 21 RBI, and a .648 OPS.
That brings us to Johan Rojas, who is the Phillies No. 5 ranked prospect and currently playing centerfield in Double-A Reading. I’m just not sure Rojas is ready to make that jump. He’s only batting .234 with five home runs, 29 RBI and a .627 OPS.
Matt Vierling will likely assume the starting role in centerfield but has struggled as of late. Over his last 22 at-bats, Vierling has slashed just .182/.208/.182 with four hits and one RBI. Vierling’s recent struggles has dropped his average down to .225 on the season.
Unless I’m missing something, really, the only option I could see is adding Scott Kingery as an outfielder. Either that, or contact Odubel Herrera and get him on a plane back to Philadelphia, but I HIGHLY DOUBT the Phillies would even consider bringing that mess back to Citizens Bank Park in the midst of a playoff run. It would be funny though.
Here’s what Dave Dombrowski said today while speaking with reporters:
“Really when you get to the point where you’re scrambling, which we would be if we lose Marsh – and Schwarber and Muzziotti within a few days – you explore all options, which is what we’re doing just in case,” Dombrowski said. “I’m still hopeful that he may not have to go on the IL, but we’ll just wait and see.”
