Kepler, Marsh injury scare underscores need for another outfielder
The most vulnerable area of the roster took a hit on Sunday when outfielders Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh were lifted from a Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota. Both exited for precautionary reasons, according to the team, and are expected to be OK.
Marsh fell on the warning track while trying to retrieve a hit in the first inning, then landed on his left knee awkwardly an inning later as he made a sliding catch. Kepler twisted his lower back into the left field wall while making a catch on a fly ball just short of the fence.
Both Kepler and Marsh told reporters, including the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber, that they would have continued playing if it was a regular season game. As expected, they are not in the lineup for Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Clearwater.
Both injuries occurring during the same spring training game is a cruel reminder of just how thin the Phillies are in the outfield. The starting three of Kepler, Marsh and Nick Castellanos has a chance to be productive, especially if Kepler and Marsh can find consistent success against lefties, and Castellanos can recapture the form he had at the plate from May to September of last season. It gets dicey if either of those three are not in the lineup.
Johan Rojas (shoulder) still has not played an inning of center field this spring. He has ramped up his throwing progression in recent days, but with Opening Day just 10 days away, he is danger of beginning the season on the injured list if he is not ready to play the outfield. Weston Wilson will miss the first few weeks of the season after suffering an oblique injury early on in camp. He is their best right-handed hitting outfield bat behind Castellanos.
With one-and-a-half outfielders down, a serious injury to Kepler, Marsh or Castellanos would put the Phillies in a precarious position. It’s why the Phillies have told just about every utility infielder on the roster to find an outfielder’s mitt. Buddy Kennedy started in left on Saturday. Non-roster invitee Christian Arroyo replaced Kepler in left field on Sunday. Edmundo Sosa is playing left field on Monday, his first Grapefruit League start in the outfield since March 5. Kody Clemens has surprisingly played the outfield in only one game this spring.
Who is the next man up on the depth chart? It would ideally be great if the Sosa experiment in the outfield is deemed a success, and the Phillies can get him more at-bats over time by playing him out there. Even though Cal Stevenson is left-handed and has a minor league option remaining, he is an important piece since he is one of the few outfielders on the roster who can play center field. If Rojas begins the season on the IL and if Sosa is not yet seen as a viable option in center, he could break camp with the team. Non-roster invitee Óscar Mercado, a right-handed hitter, can also make the team as a center field option.
With that said, the Phillies should still be in the market for a fourth or fifth outfielder as spring training winds down and more players become available either on the trade or free-agent market. The Kepler and Marsh injuries are likely nothing to worry about, but the thought of potentially losing both with the depth behind them already as thin as it is, is scary if you’re the Phillies.
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I'm just thinking out loud here but... And ik he's not good and wouldn't fix too many problems... But Alex Verdugo. Good fielder, serviceable enough hitter, can play corners, probably decent in center. I know he strikes out, and he's not that good. But he's cheap and he's not signed to a contract. Give em $3-$4m for a year and I don't think too many people would be mad about it