Phillies slugger Jay Bruce exited Tuesday evening’s contest with a strained right oblique muscle, the Phillies announced. There’s no word on a a trip to the injured list, but the Phillies will likely have additional info after the game.
The majority of oblique strains send players to the injured list, and it’s not uncommon for position players to miss around a month with even a Grade 1 strain. Losing Bruce would be a blow to the Phillies’ lineup; while he’s only mustered a paltry .277 OBP since his acquisition, Bruce entered play Tuesday hitting .266 and slugging a whopping .574 with the Phils. He’s already drilled 10 long balls and six doubles with Philadelphia, and he’d plated 29 runs in his first 32 games with the team.
Bruce’s acquisition helped to offset the loss of Andrew McCutchen, who suffered a torn ACL earlier this season and won’t return until 2020. An absence for Bruce could open the door for the return of Nick Williams — the one-time top prospect who has yet to solidify himself as a big league regular in the manner most envisioned when he was rising through the minor leagues. The 25-year-old Williams logged an ugly .173/.221/.259 slash through 86 plate appearances with the Phillies earlier in 2019 before being optioned to Triple-A, but that poor output came in an extremely limited role that was surely foreign to him.
Since being sent to Triple-A for regular at-bats, Williams has laid waste to International League pitching. In 120 trips to the plate, he’s recorded a superlative .358/.417/.651 with six homers, 10 doubles and two triples. He’d be the obvious candidate to replace Bruce on a short-term basis, but one can only wonder whether the Phils would again look to the trade market for another outfield option. While the Phillies have quickly faded in the NL East race, they’re still very much in the thick of the NL Wild Card mix. And after such an aggressive offseason, it’d be a disheartening concession for the team’s decision-makers to operate as anything other than a deadline buyer.
That’s a big loss. Plenty of fill ins available right now though. Braves are running away with the division.
This organization is a complete joke! They over value their prospects tremendously and sit on their hands when it comes to buying pitchers. Their scouting department blows. Have only developed 2 homegrown pitchers in the last 20 years. Nola & Hammels. Andy McFailure with his thought process of buy bats and develop pitchers approach didn’t work in Baltimore so why would it work here. Pitching is what wins. Don’t get me started on Kapler. What a joke he is and his everyone gets a trophy attitude. What players are busting it for this guy? Losing is ok. We will keep trying. Middleton you need to fire this circus act immediately!!
Overvalue their prospects? They traded Kilome for Asdrubal and Sixto for Realmuto recently. They just don’t have many top prospects to deal.
because they have poor scouting. They have had the last 5 years where their 1st pick has been in the top 10 and what have they gotten? Where’s the homegrown talent? They havent had an impactful OF since Pat the bat! 2 pitchers in the last 20 years. Hamels and Nola. Before that it was Don Carmen. Have a Clue you Homer! The Phillies suck from top to bottom like the prom queen
Well, there goes a trade piece for Seattle
uh…wut?
Whoops my bad. I was acting in the spirit of a true fan. Read headlines without reading the article, make uninformed opinions, and post comments.
But honesty,a sense of humor and self awareness are always very good traits to have Pickle.
But your comment does remind that the Mariners do have another tasty bat available in Santana. Also a lefty reliever. I hope Philly can make a decent offer on both and get closer to fulfilling my dream of a team comprised of mostly ex-Mariners winning the WS. It will be the closest we’ve ever been to title dreams!
What?
Lo Mo time!!!
lets hope he’s better then last year at least…
Opens the door for a hunter pence reunion!! This year is lost. Might as well make it entertaining.
Every body hits…let’s eat.
Seattle has Santana that they probably would be willing to part with.
8===D
It is very difficult to return to full physical capacity and remain there following an oblique strain. Jay Bruce isn’t getting any younger. (Of course, come to think about it — no one is!
Hamilton or Gore tonight?
Frazier would be a good fit but for the life of me I don’t know what I’d want in return from the Phillies. I do t see any pitching and I do t think they’d give it up if trying to contend
NICK CASTELLANOS
Forgot the on base thing.
His OPS is .851!
That rules the day!
The Phillies gave up a non prospect and only paid 3 million bucks off his salary for 1.5+ seasons. Forget the OBP for that value. An .850 OPS is a bargain for 3 million bucks. And he’s much better than Nick Williams who couldn’t muster a .700 OPS so that’s really all that matters.
There goes their best player to sell. Perhaps they can get something for Brad Miller or Hector Neris. Might as well call up Williams and see once and for all if he can succeed with steady playing time.
Klentak should call his old team in Baltimore and go get Mancini. He’s seemingly uninterested in outfield defense anyhow. Give me Spencer Howard, Cole Irvin and Nick Maton. They can have Villar thrown in too if they’d like to improve their bench.
Nick Williams needs a new team. Package him for a starter. They need a closer, corner outfielder and 3 starters. Throw in needing a legit manager and GM
Who gets hurt next ?? The ball girl ??