A day after hitting the game-winning double in Israel’s 2023 World Baseball Classic opener, Garrett Stubbs is out of the lineup due to injury.
The Phillies catcher turned Israel third baseman is dealing with knee soreness, his international club announced on Monday. Stubbs will not play as Israel takes on Puerto Rico in a Pool D matchup on Monday night at loanDepot Park in Miami.
Israel manager Ian Kinsler told reporters that Stubbs informed both Team Israel and the Phillies of the soreness after he woke up on Monday, the morning after his two-run, bases-loaded double in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Israel to a 3-1 victory over Nicaragua. Team Israel will give Stubbs another day to see how he’s feeling, but the club has explored options to replace him on the roster.
Stubbs, who posted an .812 OPS in 46 games in his first season in Philadelphia last year, went 2-for-5 with two RBIs leading off for Israel in the team’s first game. Now, it remains to be seen if he’ll get the chance to build off that success in the rest of the tournament.