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Phillies Outright Ronald Torreyes

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SEPT. 17: Torreyes cleared waivers and was outrighted to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies announced.

SEPT. 15: The Phillies have designated infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, whom they recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Torreyes lasted just a few days on the roster of the Phillies, who selected his contract Sept. 11. The 28-year-old went on to hit 1-for-7 before the Phillies designated him. Formerly a Dodger, Yankee and Twin, Torreyes has batted .277/.306/.369 with four home runs and five steals across 638 plate appearances in the majors. His .273/.314/.365 line in 1,080 PA in Triple-A doesn’t look much different.

Cleavinger, 26, could now be in line for his first major league experience. The Phillies acquired him from the Orioles for righty Jeremy Hellickson back in 2017, and Cleavinger has since shown he’s capable of producing at the Double-A level. He threw 51 2/3 innings of 3.66 ERA/2.73 FIP ball with 14.46 K/9 and 5.92 BB/9 there last year.

Phillies Place Jake Arrieta On 10-Day IL

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Sept. 17: Arrieta’s strain is a Grade 1 strain, manager Joe Girardi tells reporters (Twitter link via Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). He won’t pitch again during the regular season but could still be a potential option in the playoffs, should the Phillies get there.

Sept. 16: The Phillies announced that they’ve placed right-hander Jake Arrieta (right hamstring strain) and outfielder Kyle Garlick (right oblique strain) on the 10-day injured list. Those moves helped clear space for the promotion of outfielder Mickey Moniak. The Phillies also recalled righty Connor Brogdon.

Arrieta’s injury makes it possible that we’ve seen the last of him in a Phillies uniform, as he’s due to reach free agency after the season. The Phillies signed the former NL Cy Young winner and ex-Cubs star to a three-year, $75MM shortly before the 2018 campaign began, but the returns haven’t been positive for the club. Arrieta has missed time with multiple injuries and performed like a back-end starter when healthy, having logged a 4.36 ERA/4.55 FIP over 352 2/3 innings in a Phillies uniform. He has thrown 44 1/3 frames of 5.08 ERA/4.67 FIP ball with 6.5 K/9, 3.25 BB/9 and a 51.8 percent groundball rate this season.

Arrieta’s disappointing production in 2020 is one of the reasons the Phillies are fighting for their playoff lives at 24-23. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have given the team top-level numbers out of its rotation, but Arrieta, Spencer Howard, Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez have all failed to prevent runs at an acceptable level in a combined 28 starts.

Injury Notes: JV, McCullers, Hoskins, Moronta, Chafin

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Justin Verlander has continued to progress in his late-season comeback effort, as Jake Kaplan of The Athletic writes. The veteran hurler isn’t yet ready to return to the Astros rotation, of course, but he has now faced live hitters in a two-inning sim game. It’s still unclear how things will progress from here. The club would surely like to get JV a regular-season appearance before the season concludes, but it’s also possible he’d make his first start in the postseason. Meanwhile, the ’Stros have now welcomed back fellow right-hander Lance McCullers from his own stay on the injured list, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 was among those to tweet. It turned out to be a brief stay for McCullers, who had a procedure to relieve neck nerve irritation. He’ll look to improve upon a 5.79 ERA through his first eight outings.

Here are some more injury notes from around the league …

  • Phillies first bagger Rhys Hoskins is still in limbo as he deals with an elbow/foream issue. As Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports on Twitter, the burly slugger is holding out hope of a return even while the threat of a season-ending surgery hangs over his head. When and how this situation will be resolved isn’t yet clear. Losing Hoskins would represent a big dent to the Phils’ lineup. He has to this point of the season turned in a productive .245/.384/.503 slash line with ten long balls.
  • It seems the Giants could yet get a bullpen boost from right-hander Reyes Moronta. He’s ready for competitive mound action at the team’s alternate training site, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area notes on Twitter. Moronta has been building up after undergoing shoulder surgery, so the club won’t want to push him too hard. But it’s enticing to imagine adding another postseason weapon, particularly since Moronta is said to be showing typically strong velocity. Jeff Samardzija is also nearing readiness, with a five-inning set scheduled. It’s unclear what role may await for the veteran once he’s deemed a full go. He coughed up 15 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings over his first three starts on the year.
  • The Cubs haven’t yet received a contribution from recently acquired southpaw Andrew Chafin, but that may soon change. The 30-year-old reliever, who was nursing a finger sprain when he was dealt at the trade deadline, is close enough that he could be activated over the next few days, skipper David Ross indicated to reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chafin had struggled to open the year in Arizona, but he’d represent a notable addition to a bullpen that has had its share of issues, especially from the left side.

Phillies To Promote Mickey Moniak

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The Phillies are set to call up former No. 1 overall draft pick Mickey Moniak, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). It’ll be the Major League debut for the 22-year-old outfielder.

Moniak wasn’t initially included in the Phillies’ 60-man player pool to begin the shortened season, but he was added shortly before the trade deadline. Now, with Kyle Garlick sustaining an apparent oblique injury, Moniak join the club for his first taste of the Majors. He spent the 2019 season in Double-A, where he posted a .252/.303/.439 batting line. Those numbers don’t immediately stand out, but in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, that was actually 15 percent better than the league average (115 wRC+). Moniak connected on 11 home runs and piled up extra-base hits, adding 28 doubles and 13 triples to his ledger. He also swiped 15 bases in 18 tries.

Solid 2019 output notwithstanding, it’s also fair to say that Moniak’s career to date hasn’t quite gone as the Phillies would’ve hoped when taking him with the top overall pick. That’s not to say that he’s not a legitimate prospect — he ranks ninth among Phillies prospects at FanGraphs, 12th at Baseball America and 13th at MLB.com — but fair or not, the expectations for any top overall pick are understandably sky-high.

Moniak may not rank within the game’s top 100 prospects or even within his own club’s top 10 on some lists, but he’ll now be afforded the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong and establish himself as a piece of the Phillies’ future. He’ll join an outfield mix that features Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, Andrew McCutchen ad Phil Gosselin, giving the clubs another left-handed bat capable of playing any of the three outfield spots.

As it stands, the Phillies will be able to control Moniak through at least the 2026 season, although that timeline could be altered depending on future optional assignments. The Phillies will need to make a move to select Moniak’s contract, as he’s not currently on the team’s 40-man roster.

Phillies Sign Jonathan Lucroy, Greg Bird

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The Phillies have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy and first baseman Greg Bird to minor league contracts, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets. The two will report to the team’s alternate site, and because they’re joining the 60-man player pool on the day of the Sept. 15 postseason eligibility deadline, they will be eligible for playoff rosters if the Phillies make it.

The Phillies are banged up at catcher and first base, so this is a late effort by the club to add depth as the posteason nears. Philadelphia’s 24-23 and on track for a playoff spot, though starting catcher J.T. Realmuto hasn’t played since Sept. 12 because of hip problems, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins went to the IL on Monday as a result of a left UCL injury.

Lucroy, like Realmuto is now, was one of the majors’ best catchers in his heyday. However, the former Brewers standout has fallen on hard times offensively and defensively with a few teams over the past couple years. The Red Sox released Lucroy on Tuesday, which came after he totaled one plate appearance with the club this season.

Bird was a high-profile prospect with the Yankees not too long ago, and he made an encouraging debut in 2015, but a series of injuries have helped derail his career since then. Bird was previously with the Rangers, who designated him for assignment in August. The 27-year-old could now reunite with Joe Girardi, who managed the Yankees at the beginning of Bird’s career and is now the Phillies’ skipper.

Phillies To Place Rhys Hoskins On 10-Day IL

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The Phillies will place first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the 10-day injured list with a left UCL injury, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. In better news for the club, catcher J.T. Realmuto (hip flexor) will avoid the IL, while right-hander Zack Wheeler (finger) should return to the mound this week.

The Hoskins news continues a rough few days for the Phillies, who have dropped three in a row – including a 6-2 defeat to the Marlins on Monday. The 27-year-old Hoskins hasn’t played since Saturday, when he suffered a forearm injury, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to take the field again this season. Time’s running out in 2020 for him and the Phillies, who are an even 23-23 but are still in possession of a playoff spot in the National League.

If Philly does break its eight-year playoff drought this season, it’ll have Hoskins to thank to some extent. Although Hoskins is stuck in an 0-for-10 slump, he has slashed a rather effective .245/.384/.503 (138 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances. That’ll be tough production for the Phillies to replace in the season’s final couple weeks, especially considering Hoskins has played almost every game at first for the team this base. Otherwise, only the now-gone Neil Walker and the historically light-hitting Phil Gosselin have lined up there for the Phillies.

Neil Walker Elects Free Agency

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The Phillies announced that veteran infielder Neil Walker, whom they designated for assignment last Friday, has elected free agency after clearing waivers. Philadelphia also reinstated Scott Kingery from the injured list and optioned lefty Ranger Suarez to the alternate training site.

Walker, 35, struggled to a .231/.244/.308 slash through 18 games and 41 plate appearances prior to being designated on Friday. The Phils opted to swap him out for fellow infielder Ronald Torreyes, who gives them an option at shortstop — a position not in Walker’s repertoire — and to provide better overall glovework at other spots around the infield.

Although Walker wasn’t particularly sharp with the Phillies, he notched a solid .261/.344/.395 batting line with the Marlins just last year. He was also a consistently productive hitter from 2010-17, slashing a combined .273/.342/.439 in 4294 plate appearances between the Pirates, Mets and Brewers. He’ll be eligible to sign with any club for the duration of the season should he choose. If he does latch on with a new club by tomorrow, he’d still be eligible for his new club’s postseason roster.

Rhys Hoskins To Undergo MRI For Forearm Injury

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Rhys Hoskins sat out both games of the Phillies’ doubleheader with the Marlins today due to an “achy forearm,” as manager Joe Girardi described the problem to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman and other reporters.  X-rays were negative on Hoskins’ forearm, though he will undergo an MRI perhaps as early as Monday.

This is the latest in a swarm of bad injury news that has hit the Phillies in just the last two days.  Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, and Spencer Howard (the only one on the injured list for now) have all been sidelined with various issues, and the seriousness of any of these injuries has yet to be truly determined.

The good news in Hoskins’ case is that he told The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro and other reporters that his forearm was already feeling better today after receiving some treatment, and (assuming the MRI is clean) hopefully can return to the lineup as early as Monday.  Hoskins said he suffered the injury while trying to make a catch in Saturday’s game.

The first baseman has been one of Philadelphia’s best hitters, batting .245/.384/.503 with 10 home runs over 185 plate appearances.  After bursting onto the scene in 2017, Hoskins’ hard-hit ball numbers had been on the decline in 2018-19, though Statcast indicates he is again making strong contact.  Hoskins’ 14.8% barrel rate puts him in the 92nd percentile of all players, while his .388 xwOBA puts him in the 90th percentile.  Mostly importantly, Hoskins is just about making the most of that contact, with a .376 xOBA only slightly below his xwOBA.  The slugger has also continued to capitalize on free passes, posting one of the league’s better walk rates for the second consecutive season.

J.T. Realmuto Leaves Game Due To Hip Discomfort

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TODAY: Realmuto is day-to-day for now, and will undergo an MRI, Girardi told Montemurro and other reporters.

SEPTEMBER 12: If an early exit from Spencer Howard wasn’t worrisome enough for the Phillies, they’re now sweating a potentially even more costly injury.  Catcher J.T. Realmuto felt “hip discomfort” while running the bases in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 12-6 win over the Marlins, manager Joe Girardi told The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro and other reporters.

Realmuto was still able to field his position in the bottom half of the inning but was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth.  Realmuto will be re-examined tomorrow, and given the circumstances, it could be that the Phils were just being cautious in removing a star player in the final inning of a one-sided game.

Needless to say, of course, losing Realmuto for any stretch of time would be a huge blow to a Philadelphia team that is trying to lock down (at minimum) a playoff berth and still has hopes of catching the Braves for first place in the NL East.  Realmuto has been his usual outstanding self, entering tonight’s game with 11 home runs and a .274/.361/.541 slash line over his first 166 plate appearances.  Realmuto’s .903 OPS represents a career best, with the obvious caveat that a “career best” has an asterisk in this shortened season.

Andrew Knapp is the Phillies’ backup catcher, and none of the three backstops at their alternate training site (Henri Lartigue, Rafael Marchan, Logan O’Hoppe) have any MLB experience.  In the worst-case scenario of a Realmuto IL trip, it seems like the Phillies would be very likely to sign a veteran catcher to act as Knapp’s backup.

Phillies Place Spencer Howard On Injured List

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SEPTEMBER 13: The Phillies are placing Howard on the 10-day injured list, the club announced. Reliever Connor Brogdon is up from the alternate site to replace Howard on the active roster. Additionally, right-hander Ramón Rosso has been added to the roster as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Marlins. He’ll get the start in the first game of the twin bill.

SEPTEMBER 12: Phillies right-hander Spencer Howard left tonight’s game in the fourth inning due to stiffness in his throwing shoulder, the team announced.  Howard had just allowed a three-run homer to the Marlins’ Brian Anderson before being visited on the mound by manager Joe Girardi and a team trainer before departing the game.

Any sort of arm problem for a pitcher obviously isn’t good news, and a shoulder issue is of particular concern in Howard’s case — as The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro pointed out, a similar injury caused Howard to miss two months of the 2019 season.  If the problem here is truly just stiffness or discomfort, it’s possible Howard could be back after just a missed start or perhaps an extra day or two of rest, but naturally the Phillies will be as cautious as possible in making sure the star prospect is healthy.

Saturday’s abbreviated outing has been indicative of Howard’s struggles over his first taste of the majors, as the righty took a 5.66 ERA into tonight’s start against Miami.  Howard had a 2.25 K/BB rate and 7.8 K/9 over his first 20 2/3 innings, with his BABIP (.343) and xwOBA (.334, compared to a .380 wOBA) indicating at least some bad luck.  Anderson’s home run tonight, however, was already the sixth long ball surrendered by Howard this season, and he has been hit hard in his second or third times through opposing lineups.

Howard’s prospect pedigree notwithstanding, it isn’t unexpected that a 24-year-old rookie who had never pitched above Double-A ball would have some struggles in his first MLB season.  If Howard has to miss time, however, it leaves the Phillies short an arm in the midst of a stretch of 18 games in 14 days.  Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have been carrying an otherwise shaky Philadelphia rotation, though Wheeler may be questionable to make his next start due to a nasty fingernail injury.

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