The Phillies have three weeks left in the regular season, 19 games to go, and a plethora of injuries as the finish line approaches.
J.T. Realmuto missed his third consecutive game on Monday due to fouling a ball off his left knee during his second at-bat in Miami on Friday night. He was diagnosed with a left knee injury and has since fought with edema and fluid in the knee.
The Phillies don’t expect their starting catcher to return until the second half of this week’s homestand, which runs Friday through Sunday against the Mets. The Phillies host the Tampa Bay Rays from Monday to Wednesday and are off on Thursday.
“The swelling is going down,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I would expect to see him in the Mets series. It could happen sooner, but we will see. We want to ensure that the fluid is removed from his knee. I want to watch him catch a bullpen. We believed there was a chance he’d catch a bullpen today; we thought it might be knocked out, so we were hoping he could go back there, but it hasn’t exactly happened yet.
“He still needs to do some work.”
Alec Bohm
Bohm has been out since August 29, when he suffered a left hand strain against the Braves. The Phillies first assumed he’d escape the disabled list, but the inflammation and soreness didn’t decrease as rapidly as they had intended, he was placed on the IL on September 6, retroactive to September 3.
Bohm took groundballs on the field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon, but that is not the problem. The issue is swinging without pain. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Friday to face the Mets, but that is still to be determined.
“He’ll do some dry swings and hopefully we’ll get to some tee and toss today,” Thomson told me.
Before the Phillies may activate Bohm from the IL, he must swing painlessly on two consecutive days.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but I’m not worried about him having enough time to hit in the postseason,” Thomson said when asked if he thought Bohm will have enough reps to reestablish his form at the plate.
Austin Hays
Hays has a kidney infection and flew back to Philadelphia for more tests during the Phillies’ road trip to Toronto and Miami last week. His IL stay was backdated to September 2, but it does not appear like he will return when he is first eligible.
Hays worked out and threw at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, while the Phillies finished their trip.
“He feels better but he said his legs still feel, he called it heavy,” Thomson told me. “He’s still battling with the symptoms of the kidney infection, but I believe he’s improving. It’ll probably be a few days. I’m not sure how many. It’ll be a while.”
Hays was the Phillies’ trade deadline acquisition, but he has yet to make an impact, having appeared in only 19 games. He missed two weeks in August due to a hamstring problem, and it appears he may miss the most of September as well.
“It gives other people an opportunity to play and do their thing,” Thomson told me.
The Phillies’ active roster includes healthy outfielders Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Weston Wilson, and Cal Stevenson. Kyle Schwarber also started two games in left field on the road trip to relieve Castellanos and Bryce Harper of their workload.
Edmundo Sosa
The least worrying of the Phillies’ problems, Sosa is expected to return when he becomes eligible next Monday at Milwaukee. He was admitted to the IL during the weekend due to back spasms.
Rafael Marchan
The Phillies’ third-string catcher is on the injured list in Triple A due to a left shoulder impingement sustained while sliding, but he is set to return for the IronPigs on Tuesday.
Marchan, if healthy, would have been the natural call-up this weekend with Realmuto out. Instead, Aramis Garcia had his contract chosen.
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