After six games without a home run, the Phillies offense exploded for FIVE dingers on Tuesday night in Cincinnati, including two from Rhys Hoskins! Kyle Gibson tied his career-high with 11 Ks too!
CINCINNATI – With 45 games to go and their first postseason berth in a decade on the line, the Phillies suddenly have a real shortage of outfield depth.
“We’re thin,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged Wednesday. “We’re short, all of a sudden.”
Starting center fielder Brandon Marsh suffered a left leg injury Tuesday night. An MRI revealed a bone bruise in Marsh's knee but no structural damage. He also has some soreness in his left ankle. It's likely that Marsh will end up going on the injured list before the Phillies play the Mets on Friday night.
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Marsh is the latest Phillies outfielder to go down.
Left fielder Kyle Schwarber has not started six straight games due to a right calf strain. He is expected to return Friday night but as the DH. Bryce Harper, of course, is due back in a couple of weeks, but he’s unable to play the outfield because of a ligament tear in his right elbow.
The team’s organizational outfield depth took a recent hit when Simon Muzziotti, who is a pure center fielder, suffered a partial tear to his patellar tendon. He is done for the season.
Scrambling for outfielders, the Phils used Nick Maton in left field in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at Cincinnati. Matt Vierling played center field. Maton played just two games in the outfield in his minor-league career before being inserted into Tuesday night’s game after Marsh went down.
MLB
With Marsh likely bound for the IL, the Phils could bring up Johan Camargo or Yairo Munoz from Triple A. Both are primarily infielders, but they have played the outfield. Edmundo Sosa and Garrett Stubbs, both of whom are on the big-league roster, can play some outfield. Nonetheless, the Phils could depth.
Dombrowski acknowledged that he and his staff are looking for it.
“We can look at some things internally, but we also have to look at some things externally, too, who might be available, free agents or waiver claims or guys who are not on major-league contracts," Dombrowski said.
With Marsh down, the Phils’ ideal depth piece would hit left-handed and be able to play center field.
The trade deadline has come and gone. A couple of outfielders popped up on the waiver wire in recent weeks, most notably Jackie Bradley Jr. and Travis Jankowski, but both have signed, Bradley with Toronto and Jankowski back with the Mets.
Veteran outfielder Stephen Piscotty could be a name to watch. He was let go by Oakland earlier this week. Bradley Zimmer could be another possibility after being designated for assignment by Toronto.
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