Injury Pile-Up Will Put Phillies to the Test
The Phillies as of late have been plagued with injuries to key players. Andrew McCutchen’s torn ACL is the most recent injury to add to the growing Injured List. César Hernandez will do his best for the foreseeable future to provide quality at-bats from the leadoff position.
The two players who will see the most time because of the McCutchen injury and Odubel Herrera suspension are Jay Bruce and Adam Haseley. Despite going 0-4 in his Major League debut, Haseley will get significant time to get comfortable at the professional level. Haseley was off to a slow start early in the year and has gone on an absolute tear. After 41 games in Reading (AA), he found himself getting promoted to AAA. After six impressive games in AAA, Haseley found himself being promoted again. Unfortunately, Dylan Cozens broke his foot earlier this year, or he could have had an opportunity to prove himself over an extended period of time in the majors.
The Phillies acquired Jay Bruce at the perfect time. Bruce helps fill the void in the outfield with veteran experience. As we saw on Tuesday evening in San Diego, his power from the left side adds another threat to the lineup. In his first game starting, he had a double, and two home runs, including a grand slam. In his last 20 games, he has an OPS over 1.000. Subtly, the Phillies may have pulled off the best trade of the season.
Luckily, Zach Eflin will be making his next start on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. He may have only missed his last appearance for precautionary reasons. The Phillies got to experiment, using an opener for the first time against the lefty-heavy lineup of the Dodgers. Eflin’s 5-5 record is slightly misleading; he actually leads the entire team in WAR (2.1) and has the best ERA from the starting rotation at 3.02. A healthy Zach Eflin is necessary for the rest of the season.
The Phillies have a difficult road to navigate as they fight their way to the playoffs. The worst part with some of the big signings this offseason is that players like McCutchen and David Robertson have long track records of not getting hurt. That track record is part of the reason Matt Klentak pursued them this offseason. Welp.
It’s hard to fault Klentak for bad injury luck. But he will be defined by how he – and the entire team – respond to it.
Current Injured List and 2019 Salary
Victor Arano – $510,000
Zach Eflin – $590,000
Odubel Herrera – still being paid
Tommy Hunter – $9 million
Andrew McCutchen – $10 million
Adam Morgan – $1.1 million
Pat Neshek – $7.75 million
Roman Quinn – $559,000
Edubray Ramos – $497,000
David Robertson – $10 million
Featured Image: Courier Post Online
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