Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said before Sunday evening’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals that the team was holding shortstop Edmundo Sosa out a night after he had some left hamstring tightness because “we don’t need any more hamstrings hurt around here.”
Unfortunately for the Phillies, they didn’t escape Sunday’s extra-inning loss without losing another player to an injury, as Brandon Marsh departed in the bottom of the eighth with what the team called a right hamstring strain.
There wasn’t much of an update postgame. Manager Rob Thomson said Marsh is day-to-day for the time being, with further evaluation set to take place. Marsh was getting treatment postgame, so he didn’t speak to the media.
While there’s no reason to think Sosa will have an extended absence, Trea Turner has missed nearly a month with a left hamstring strain of his own. It’s not yet clear when he will return. Losing Marsh — who entered the evening with an .878 OPS against right-handed pitching — would obviously be a major blow, particularly with Turner also out right now.
On the 40-man roster, Weston Wilson could be an option to be called up to replace Marsh, though he has just a .684 OPS at Triple-A Lehigh Valley right now. Former All-Star David Dahl is also at Triple-A, having a massive season hitting .340 with 12 home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.076 OPS. The left-handed hitting outfielder would need to be added to the 40-man roster to be called up. Cristian Pache, Whit Merrifield and Kody Clemens would be candidates for more at-bats in Marsh’s absence as well.
We’ll know more tomorrow, when the Phillies open up a three-game set against Rhys Hoskins and the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.