Phillies injury updates on Realmuto, Bohm, Hays, Sosa, Marchan originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies have three weeks left in the regular season, 19 games to play and a slew of injuries as the finish line approaches.
J.T. Realmuto was out of the lineup Monday for the third straight game after fouling a ball off his left knee in his second at-bat Friday night in Miami. He was diagnosed with a left knee contusion and has dealt with swelling and fluid in the knee.
The Phillies do not expect their starting catcher back until the second part of this week’s homestand Friday through Sunday against the Mets. The Phils host the Tampa Bay Rays Monday through Wednesday and are off Thursday.
“The swelling’s coming down,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I would think we’ll probably see him in the Mets series. It could be sooner but we’ll see. We want to make sure the fluid’s out of his knee. I want to see him catch a bullpen. We thought maybe there was a chance he’d catch a bullpen today, we thought it might be knocked out so we were hoping he could get back there but it hasn’t all quite gotten out.
“He still needs to do some work.”
Bohm has been out since suffering a left hand strain against the Braves on August 29. The Phillies initially thought he’d avoid the injured list but the inflammation and pain didn’t subside as quickly as they hoped and they placed him on the IL on September 6, retroactive to September 3.
Bohm took groundballs on the field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon, but that’s not the issue. The issue is swinging without pain. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Friday to face the Mets but that’s still TBD.
“He’ll do some dry swings and hopefully we’ll get to some tee and toss today,” Thomson said.
Bohm will need to swing without pain on back-to-back days before the Phillies return him from the IL.
“I’m not sure how much time it’s gonna take but I’m not concerned about him having enough time to hit in the postseason,” Thomson said when asked if he thought Bohm would have enough reps to regain his form at the plate.
Austin Hays
Hays is dealing with a kidney infection and flew back to Philadelphia for additional testing during the Phillies’ road trip to Toronto and Miami last week. His IL stint was backdated to September 2 but it does not sound like he’ll be back when first eligible.
Hays worked out and threw at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday as the Phillies concluded their trip.
“He feels better but he said his legs still feel, he called it heavy,” Thomson said. “He’s still dealing with some effects of the kidney infection but I think he’s getting better. It’s probably gonna a few days. I don’t know how many. It’s gonna be a while.”
Hays was the bat the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline but he hasn’t made much of an impact, playing in only 19 games. He missed two weeks in August with a hamstring strain and it looks like he’ll miss the bulk of September, as well.
“It gives other people an opportunity to play and do their thing,” Thomson said.
Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Weston Wilson and Cal Stevenson are the healthy outfielders on the Phillies’ active roster. Kyle Schwarber also started two games in left field during the road trip to get Castellanos and Bryce Harper off their feet.
The least concerning of the Phillies’ injuries, Sosa is expected to return when first eligible next Monday in Milwaukee. He went on the IL with back spasms over the weekend.
The Phillies’ third-string catcher is on the injured list at Triple A with a left shoulder impingement he suffered sliding, but he’s expected back for the IronPigs on Tuesday.
Marchan, if healthy, would have been the obvious call-up over the weekend with Realmuto sidelined. Instead, Aramis Garcia had his contract selected.
