A key Phillies hitter is nearing close to a return

Phillies second baseman Jean Segura could return to the Phillies lineup as soon as Tuesday, according to Phillies manager Joe Girardi. He’ll go through his normal routine on Monday and if all goes well, he should be back in time for the start of the Phillies’ next homestand.

Segura has not played since June 15 when he suffered a Grade 1 left groin strain in the ninth inning of a loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers. General manager Sam Fuld told the media that Segura was expected to miss up to three weeks. A Tuesday return would mean that he exceeded his initial recovery timeline by eight days.

Before his injury, Segura was on a tear. Despite going on the injured list twice, Segura is still the Phillies’ third most valuable contributor on offense, according to FanGraphs WAR. He owns the highest batting average (.332) and fourth highest on-base percentage (.379) among all second baseman with at least 200 plate appearances. His presence should stabilize a Phillies lineup that has struggled with consistency all year.

Bryce Harper is in the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the Reds. He was given a day off Sunday after he was hit in the leg by a Jacob deGrom slider on Saturday.

As far as Didi Gregorius goes, he’s still recovering from his elbow injury. He won’t play today since all minor league teams are scheduled to have off Monday. He’ll be evaluated by the team on Monday and play a few more games on rehab assignment with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Girardi is not sure if the Phillies shortstop will be back during the team’s upcoming homestand.

Reliever Sam Coonrod is experiencing tendinitis on the outside of his elbow. He hasn’t thrown since he was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 25. The Phillies do not believe he will be out for an extended period of time.

After a strong outing against the Mets on Friday, Matt Moore will stay in the Phillies rotation. He’s scheduled to start Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres. The Phillies rotation will look like this in the upcoming week:

• Monday: Spencer Howard
• Tuesday: Vince Velasquez
• Wednesday: Aaron Nola
• Thursday: Zach Eflin
• Friday: Zack Wheeler
• Saturday: Matt Moore

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