Phillies Reinstate J.T. Realmuto From Injured List
The Phillies have reinstated catcher J.T. Realmuto from the injured list, the team announced. Catcher Rafael Marchan has been optioned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
As expected, Realmuto will have missed just the minimum amount of time after suffering a hand contusion. He is back in the lineup batting cleanup and catching today with a .294/.400/.494 batting line on the season. To no one’s surprise, he has been every bit the franchise catcher the Phillies expected when they re-signed him to a five-year deal this winter.
The 22-year-old Marchan held his own standing in for Realmuto with a .231/.286/.308 line across 14 plate appearances. Obviously, that’s a far cry from the production offered by Realmuto, but expectations come on a sliding scale.
Marchan actually brought a little more thunder at the plate than regular backup Andrew Knapp, who has struggled this year with just a .145/.205/.184 line. Knapp is in his fifth season as the backup catcher in Philly, but if he continues to struggle, the Phillies could give Marchan another look. Given Knapp’s longstanding role in Philadelphia, however, it’s more likely that Marchan will continue to get his reps in Triple-A unless there’s another injury.
Phillies Reinstate J.T. Realmuto From Covid-Related IL
MAY 14: The Phillies announced that they have reinstated Realmuto and optioned righty Enyel De Los Santos to Triple-A.
MAY 13: 10:40am: Realmuto did not test positive, manager Joe Girardi tells reporters (link via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia). He developed a fever and grew ill last night, however, so the Phils have moved him to the Covid list to perform testing. He is not traveling with the team at the moment.
10:10am: The Phillies announced this morning that catcher J.T. Realmuto has been placed on the Covid-19-related injured list. Fellow catcher Rafael Marchan is up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his spot on the active roster for the time being.
The team did not indicate at this time whether Realmuto has tested positive or is on the Covid list as a close contact or for contact-tracing purposes. In the event of a positive test, he’d be away from the club for a minimum of 10 days.
Realmuto, 30, is out to the finest start of his career in 2021, slashing a robust .314/.418/.520 with four homers, seven doubles, a triple and three steals through his first 33 games. That excellent production comes despite suffering a fractured thumb that cost him much of Spring Training. Recently, Realmuto has missed a couple games due to a minor knee injury, though the expectation had been that he’d avoid the IL for that particular issue.
With Realmuto sidelined for a yet-to-be-determined period of time, the Phillies will turn catching duties over to Andrew Knapp and the aforementioned Marchan. That pairing certainly can’t be expected to replicate Realmuto’s contributions at the plate — few catchers could — but Knapp did turn in a .278/.404/.444 line through 89 plate appearances last year. He’s out to a much slower start in 2021, however, and is an overall .228/.332/.345 hitter in 712 Major League plate appearances. The 22-year-old Marchan is one of the organization’s top prospects and is out to a .250/.429/.313 start through 21 plate appearances in Triple-A. He went 4-for-8 with a homer and a walk in a brief MLB debut effort last summer.
Phillies Option Scott Kingery, JoJo Romero; Release Christian Bethancourt
The Phillies announced a set of roster moves, including the news that utilityman Scott Kingery, left-hander JoJo Romeo, and catcher Rafael Marchan have been optioned to Triple-A. Outfielder Travis Jankowski and catcher Rodolfo Duran were reassigned to the team’s minor league camp, and catcher Christian Bethancourt (in camp on a minors contract) has been released.
Though Kingery has had a tough time at the plate in Spring Training, it still counts as something of a surprise to see the 26-year-old not break camp with the team. While Kingery could be recalled in relatively short order, today’s move underlines how the former top prospect has struggled since the start of the 2020 season, a year that saw him suffer through a positive COVID-19 diagnosis during the summer and then hit just .159/.228/.283 in 124 plate appearances once he got onto the field.
The Phillies thought so highly of Kingery’s potential in 2018 that he was signed to a contract extension before even debuting in the majors. Though he had a rough 2018 rookie season, Kingery looked to be turning the corner with a respectable .258/.315/.474 slash line over 500 plate appearances in 2019 before his season-long setback last year. Heading into the current season, Kingery was seen as a candidate to win the Phillies’ center field job. While Kingery would still have been a backup option at multiple other positions, it seemed as though he would primarily be focused on outfield work — perhaps a necessary move, given how Kingery has spoken in the past about the extra difficulties associated with a super-utility role.
With Kingery now in the minors, it could be a sign that the Phillies are confident that Brad Miller will be ready to go on Opening Day and assume super-utility duties. Miller has been out since March 10 due to an oblique injury, but he is in Philadelphia’s lineup today for their Spring Training game with the Yankees.
Romero’s demotion also counts as a bit of a surprise, both because he’d pitched well in camp and because Jose Alvarado now looks to be the only left-hander in the Philly bullpen after Tony Watson opted out of his minor league contract earlier this week. The hard-throwing Romero (a fourth-round pick for the Phillies in the 2016 draft) worked exclusively as a reliever when making his MLB debut in 2020, but since he has otherwise operated as a starting pitcher in the minors, he could be kept stretched out as potential rotation depth.
Bethancourt signed minor league contracts with the Phillies in each of the last two offseasons, but has yet to appear in a big league game with the team. Bethancourt hit .222/.252/.316 over 489 PA with the Braves and Padres from 2013-17 and hasn’t since returned to the Show, spending 2018 with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate and playing in South Korea in 2019.
Phillies Select Rafael Marchan
The Phillies announced they’ve selected the contract of catcher Rafael Marchan before the second game of today’s doubleheader with the Marlins. Right-hander Connor Brogdon was optioned to the alternate training site, while southpaw José Álvarez has been transferred to the 45-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.
Marchan currently ranks seventh among Phils’ farmhands at Baseball America. He’s drawn plaudits for his advanced receiving and game calling skills behind the plate. The 21-year-old has demonstrated strong bat-to-ball skills in the low minors, never striking out at greater than an 11.7% clip at any stop.
In the short-term, he’s likely on hand as injury insurance. J.T. Realmuto left last night’s game with hip discomfort and didn’t play in the first game today. Andrew Knapp will get the nod behind the plate in both sides of the twin bill.
Álvarez has been on the 10-day injured list since August 21 after taking a comebacker off the groin. At last check, he was hoping to return in the playoffs if the Phils qualify; there’s no indication those plans have changed.