The Phillies are taking two big hits today, announcing that both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are going on the 10-day injured list. Harper has a left hamstring strain while Schwarber has a left groin strain. They have reinstated infielder Kody Clemens from the injured list and recalled outfielder Johan Rojas in corresponding moves.
Schwarber exited last night’s game with left groin tightness. Harper was clearly injured on the final play of the game, as he limped to first base after attempting to run out a ground ball. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported the IL placements for Harper and Schwarber prior to the official announcement, adding that both injuries are fairly mild, as Harper has a low-grade hamstring strain and could be back by July 9, but the Phils might also let him stay on the IL through the July 15-18 All-Star break for some extra rest. Schwarber’s left groin strain is mild enough that he could be back after the 10-day minimum.
The fact that both issues are fairly mild is undoubtedly good news, but the two absences will still be a challenge for the Phils. Schwarber is having yet another excellent season at the plate in his typical fashion, blending power and patience. He has a 16.1% walk rate and 17 home runs, leading to a .250/.373/.447 batting line and 133 wRC+. Harper has 20 homers, a 14% walk rate, .303/.399/.582 batting line, 169 wRC+ and the defensive metrics like his work at first base.
The Phillies have the best record in baseball at 53-28 but losing two of the better hitters in the game, even for a short time, is obviously less than ideal. It also adds to a growing injury problem, as J.T. Realmuto, Taijuan Walker, Spencer Turnbull and others are already on the IL.
Given the club’s strong record and the fact that the injuries aren’t too serious, it’s not a catastrophe, but the club will have to improvise for a little bit. Clemens was in good form before landing on the IL, as he currently has a .256/.293/.615 line on the year. But that was in a small sample size of 41 plate appearances, with all but six of those coming with the lefty swinger facing right-handed pitching. Perhaps he and Alec Bohm could share first base, with the right swinging Edmundo Sosa covering third base when a left-hander is on the mound. Sosa performed well when Trea Turner was on the IL but has had less playing time since Turner returned.
Schwarber’s IL placement does come with one silver lining, which is that the club will have more ability to rotate players into the DH slot. That could perhaps allow them to put Nick Castellanos in there fairly regularly, as he’s generally not considered to be an especially strong defender. Rojas is a strong defender but was optioned not too long ago as he struggled offensively. If Castellanos is in the DH slot, Rojas would be part of an outfield group that also includes Brandon Marsh, David Dahl, Cristian Pache and Whit Merrifield.
Fine. Better than doing the D2D song and dance at this point.
Hope both of them can recover before the all-star break
The Phillies will grind it out…they have a great ballclub.
And Rob Thomson is still, IMO, an underrated manager.
Thompson is very weak on strategy, and it has hurt the Phillies badly in the previous two post seasons.
Hard to know exactly when a manager is even making certain calls tho. Most of the best managers in regular season routinely seem to make head scratching calls in playoffs. Even the ones said to be excellent strategists make some of the worst decisions in postseason.
Huh? The Phillies have outperformed in the last two postseasons.
Well they still made some odd decisions. Taking out Suarez while he was dominant and threw few pitches against ATL clearly was a pre-game decision probably made by the FO. Even if it worked out it was a bad decision. He was the best pitcher on the planet that night and to risk 4 or so relievers all being on is not smart when your pitcher is already dealing with like 50 pitches or so (I forget). Not to mention the players and the pitcher seemed upset about it. If that game went south who knows what sort of turmoil in the clubhouse that could lead to (plus it would be a loss obviously).
Losing to the dbacks???
100pct fact. Also the only manager who made the playoffs that didn’t receive a single vote for manager of the year. The people that follow the game know he is highly average at best
Completely agree
Strategy is not even the most important thing a manager does. Sure, in a big game it becomes obvious, but again most managers don’t make all those decisions in postseason. The word manager could mean both managing the game and managing the players. As an ATL fan it is obvious Snitker has a positive influence on players whereas Freddie Gonzalez seemed to just be a figurehead sitting in the dugout with little interaction with the players (idk if that’s true entirely tho). When the players view you as a mentor or even father figure they don’t want to let you down. Bobby Cox had a huge impact on Andruw Jones effort, for instance, though he did have chronic knee problems later in his career. Ozunas turnaround is partially credited to the constant faith Snitker showed him. When everyone is down on you it is big when someone believes in you.
There are other reasons for that as well. Dodgers and Braves won a ton of games. Dbacks weren’t expected to win. Etc. Everyone expected Philly to make playoffs and they had an up and down season with about 90 wins. Based on that why would they vote for him? He has gotten votes in past.
He is weak on strategy but the players absolutely love him and play hard for him. I’m guessing he must have incredible people to people skills.
To me it’s less about playing hard than feeling comfortable, keeping the right mindset, feeling the manager trusts you, and the players being on same page. I’m sure with Harper around players not playing hard wouldn’t go over well anyway. But with professional athletes egos around it takes someone they truly respect for the team to truly be a team and not a collection of egos thinking of themselves and their stats.This is why older managers generally have respect. People respect elders more, especially when they have put a lifetime into the game and the team.
Really upsetting for Phillies fans by not only losing one but two players at once
Yes it sucks for the fans – probably the players too!
SD has Bogaerts, Tatis, Yu and Musgrove all on IL for extended time.
It happens. LAD, Houston and Texas fans probably have room to chime in on the injury bug for multiple star players.
It happens. ATL has had it worse than PHI so I’d throw them in there too. Honestly they have been pretty lucky as (if I recall) they haven’t lost one of their best players for the season.
Hoskins last year missed the entire season after getting hurt in the final Spring Training game. Harper missed half the season. Harper’s been hit in the face twice, causing significant injury. That’s pretty unlucky.
I agree about ATL having it bad, but Phillies haven’t had the best injury luck either.
Well I mean this year.
Oh yeah. I definitely agree there. Phillies have had significant injuries to Turner, Realmuto, Schwarber, Harper, Walker, but all have been for fairly short amounts of time. The Braves lost 2 of the best for the entire season.
Uh come on, it’s not that big of a deal. Sounds like they each will be out for the minimum, and it couldn’t come at a better time. With that huge cushion, 25 games over .500, it will be a nice little recharge for those two and they will be back fresh & energized and ready to roll. Next 10 games they will likely go 7-3 instead of 8-2 or 9-1. Relax people; likely a blessing in disguise.
Who are they calling up to replace Harper and Schwarber? Darick Hall + Kody Clemens would be my guess?
They are going to have to adjust the entire lineup for a minimum of 10 days.
2B Stott
SS Turner
CF Marsh
1B Bohm
LF Dahl
RF Castellanos
DH Hall/Clemens
3B Sosa
C Marchan/Stubbs. ???
Wishing both a super speedy recovery. #nextmanup #ringthebell
Rojas and Clemens. Both starting today. Phillies lineup is going to stink for a bit.
Hall isn’t seeing the major league roster, probably ever again.
Agreed, he had his moment in the sun.
Hopefully his next organization can unlock something so he can be a bench bat?
Philly Phanatic to have MRI for groin issues.
He/it has repeatedly been told by the Phillies to drop at least 150 lbs.. But the groin injury occurred after he pretended to lose his balance, and dumped a bucket of popcorn on a woman. She was not pleased and got him good.
Under that costume, Phinatic has one of those beer hats with the tubing that goes straight into the mouth. Dude is loaded by the bottom of the 4th every game.
Trade to get Rhys back!
Double whammy
Well tell Bryce to stop kicking Kyle in the groin
Hammy strains suck a lot. Never strained the groin but I can imagine that’s no fun either. Would they be out more than the 10 days?
Hopefully these injuries do not linger through the dog days of the rest of the season. The pitching should keep the nice division lead in tact as long as they keep some of these bullpen arms out of meaningful situations. Alvarado, Soto and Dominguez are ticking time bombs
This is the dodgers chance to get the best record…
long way yet to go. LAD is so far weathering the storm without Mookie, Muncy and Yamamoto. No reason the Phils can’t step up. A lotta talent on both squads.
Doesn’t hurt playing the worst teams in baseball since they have been hurt.
There are only 4 good teams in the entire NL. This is the worst I have seen the league in a long time. There may be 2 WC teams with sub .500 records.
There won’t be any teams in the playoffs with a losing record. Odds are one of the teams that your talking about will be in the World Series as usual.
I hope you’re right about the losing record, but it’s possible. Right now the 3rd WC sits a measly 2 games above .500.
The worst record, not including pandemic season, to make the playoffs was the 2005 Padres at 82-80 followed by the 2006 Cardinals at 83-78 who won the World Series. I think teams will have to get hot to get in and won’t break that record. But teams barely over .500 happens every year since they expanded the playoffs too much.
To be fair, a lot of teams are on recent hot streaks. Mets, Cards, Padres…etc. A few weeks ago these teams were significantly worse.
I hope you’re right, and historically you are, but the NL seems extra bad this year.
The only reason you think the NL is extra bad this year is because the Phillies are having their best season ever. You weren’t expecting the Phillies to be this much up on the Braves. Just don’t think as the rest of the league bad but clumped together and the Phillies having a magical season so far.
No. It has nothing to do with that. I fully expected the Phillies and Braves to be good. Same with the Dodgers and Brewers.
I didn’t expect teams like the Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants and others to be this bad. I never thought the Mets would be as terrible as their start, but that sort of course corrected. (Only mentioning the Mets because of your username. I fully expected the Mets to compete for the last WC).
Marlins, Cubs, and Braves – a welcome news to their pitching staff
Alas…..poor Kingery.
I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times.
40 man or not 40 man, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the heart and mind to add him back and risk losing another, or leave any hopes in minor leagues and, by doing so, end them.
Scott kingery come back and put up your end of the deal!
Probably underestimating Harper’s absence not to alarm the fans or the rest of team.
Luckily, he’s been diagnosed with a mild strain, similar to what Marsh just had. So a few weeks should do it.
Luckily, the Phils still have Nick Castellanos, the All-Star team finalist.
From a Dodger fan – how do you like it?
From a Phillies’ fan – it’s suboptimal.
Pitch clock strikes again.
Dadgum pitch clock!
Long term the Phils should be OK. The Braves have injuries and the Mets starters are mediocre. This will give the Phils an opportunity to give more PA to backups and callups; they will get to find their own players’ strengths and weaknesses under pressure. The Mets should get Senga back at some point, but still have mediocre, at best, starters.