Weston Wilson Out At Least Six Weeks Due To Oblique Strain
Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Matt Gelb of The Athletic) today that infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson has been diagnosed with a strained oblique that will keep him out of action for at least the next six weeks.
Wilson, 30, was widely viewed as the favorite for the final spot on Philadelphia’s Opening Day bench. Either Rafael Marchan or Garrett Stubbs will occupy one spot as the club’s backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto, while Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas are locked into bench spots already as well. Wilson appeared to be a likely candidate for that final spot due to his right-handed bat that could serve as a complement for Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh in the outfield, as well as his ability to play all four corners and even second base as needed.
The 30-year-old’s big league opportunities have been fairly limited to this point in his career, but the club will surely miss his bat off the bench. Wilson’s done nothing but hit when given the opportunity in the majors, slashing .288/.375/.490 (139 wRC+) for his career including 98 plate appearances last year where he slashed .284/.347/.489 (130 wRC+). Wilson’s career .388 BABIP has propped up his production somewhat to this point, and it’s certain to come down as he gets more opportunities in the majors. With that being said, even the 110 wRC+ Wilson posted at Triple-A last year would be an asset on a Philadelphia bench that lacks much offensive presence.
Unfortunately for Wilson and the Phillies, they won’t get the opportunity to see what he can do as part of the bench mix to open the season. With Wilson now off the table as an option, an opportunity has been created for other players to step into the role. Center fielder Cal Stevenson offered decent production at the plate (100 wRC+) in a brief cup of coffee with the Phillies last year, but his left-handed bat would be somewhat redundant in the club’s outfield mix and he lacks the versatility to play the infield. If the club was going to add a lefty bat to its bench mix, Kody Clemens would seem to be the more natural fit given his experience at all four infield spots and the outfield corners as well as his decent showing in 120 plate appearances with the Phillies last year. While he hit just .219 with a lackluster .258 on-base percentage during that time, he showed plenty of pop with five homers, nine doubles, and a triple that allowed him to post a decent 92 wRC+ overall.
Of course, replacing Wilson with another righty bat would likely make the most sense. Gelb suggests that the injury to Wilson figures to “considerably” improve the odds that 26-year-old infielder Buddy Kennedy makes the club’s Opening Day roster, and it’s not hard to see why. A fifth-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2017, Kennedy made his big league debut back in 2022 and split 2024 between the Tigers and Phillies organizations. He hit .190/.308/.381 (95 wRC+) in 26 big league plate appearances last year, but more important than his performance in that small sample size was his excellent work for the Phillies at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year.
In 300 plate appearances, Kennedy slashed an excellent .294/.400/.500 with a 13.7% walk rate that nearly matched his strikeout rate of just 15.0%. If Kennedy can offer anything close to that level of plate discipline in a bench role, he’d be a very valuable bench piece for the club this season. Kennedy has played exclusively second and third base to this point in the majors but has experience at first, shortstop, and left field in the minors. That at least leaves the door open for the club to rely on him as a right-handed complement to Kepler in left field, which likely would’ve been Wilson’s most prominent role.
While it seems likely that the Phillies would prefer to give the final bench job to one of the hitters already on their 40-man roster, there are at least a handful of non-roster invitees who could receive consideration for a bench job. Second baseman Christian Arroyo had some success in the majors with the Red Sox in 2021 and ’22, while outfielder Oscar Mercado has had intermittent success in the majors with Cleveland and St. Louis in the past. Both players are less versatile than what the club may be looking for off the bench, however, and other non-roster veterans like Rodolfo Castro have fairly limited track records in the majors themselves.
Division Series Roster Notes: Padres, Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Tigers
We’ve already covered some notable roster additions for the Guardians and Mets as the Division Series begins, and the Royals are sticking with the same 26 players used in the Wild Card Series against the Orioles. Now that all eight teams in the LDS rounds have revealed their rosters, here are the details…
- The Padres made two changes from their NLDS roster, adding left-hander Martin Perez and right-hander Alek Jacob and removing Joe Musgrove and infielder Nick Ahmed. Musgrove was obviously out due to his impending Tommy John surgery, while replacing Ahmed with a pitcher gives San Diego 13 pitchers to go with 13 position players. Perez is one of five southpaws on San Diego’s roster, as ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez (X link) was among those who noted that the Padres are guarding themselves as best they can against Shohei Ohtani and other powerful left-handed Dodgers bats.
- The Dodgers will go with an even mix of 13 batters and 13 pitchers, and rookie Edgardo Henriquez has made the list of available arms. Henriquez only made his MLB debut on September 24 and he has played in just three games as a big leaguer, but Los Angeles will give the hard-throwing righty a look in October to add some velocity to the bullpen. It’s probably safe to assume that Henriquez wouldn’t have made the cut if the Dodgers weren’t ravaged by pitching injuries, yet the rookie also got the nod over veteran Joe Kelly, who had an inconsistent year but was pitching well after returning from the IL in mid-September. On the position player side, L.A. didn’t include either Kevin Kiermaier or James Outman, so Andy Pages will be the only true backup outfielder along with utilitymen Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor in the bench mix.
- The Phillies will use 14 position players and 12 pitchers in their NLDS matchup with the Mets, with left-hander Kolby Allard joining the relief corps. Allard has worked as something of a swingman throughout his career, and this ability of covering multiple innings earned Allard the spot, as manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com’s Paul Casella and other reporters. “He’s going to probably give us the most length if we get into an extra-inning game….so I just wanted as much length as we could get,” Thomson said. Utilityman Weston Wilson also got the Phils’ last bench spot, as Casella observes that Wilson brings more positional versatility than outfielder Cal Stevenson.
- The Yankees went heavier on position players (15) than pitchers (11) for their ALDS roster against the Royals. Anthony Rizzo is missing the series due to two broken fingers and DJ LeMahieu wasn’t yet activated from the injured list, but New York still has plenty of room on its bench, including pinch-running specialist Duke Ellis. The Yankees appear to be loading up on bats to take on the Royals’ tough rotation and more porous bullpen, which left right-hander Marcus Stroman off the ALDS roster as the odd man out of the starting staff.
- The Tigers made just one change from their Wild Card Series roster, as rookie righty Keider Montero has been included in place of Casey Mize. Montero posted a 4.76 ERA over 98 1/3 innings in his first Major League season, starting 16 of 19 games. This doesn’t necessarily mean Montero will start against the Guardians in the ALDS, however, as Detroit’s pitching staff (apart from ace Tarik Skubal) is very malleable in terms of specific roles.
Phillies Release Whit Merrifield
The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve released veteran infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and recalled fellow infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Merrifield signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Phillies in free agency this past offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $7MM salary for the current season and at least a $1MM buyout on an $8MM club option for the 2025 campaign.
Merrifield, who has struggled to a .199/.277/.295 batting line in 174 plate appearances this season, is still owed about $3.01MM of his salary plus that $1MM buyout. He’ll now be able to sign with any team, and a new club would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster or injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe, but Philadelphia will remain on the hook for the majority of his remaining contract.
While things with the Phillies clearly didn’t pan out, the 35-year-old Merrifield was a decent hitter as recently as last season in Toronto, when he turned in a .272/.318/.382 slash with 11 homers, 28 doubles, a triple, 26 steals, a 6.1% walk rate and a 17.1% strikeout rate. His offense has tailed off since his peak seasons (age-29 and 30) when he led the American League in hits in consecutive seasons as a member of the Royals, but this level of decline was as unexpected as it was precipitous.
To his credit, Merrifield’s contact skills remain excellent. He’s fanned in only 10.9% of his plate appearances, and this year’s 8.6% walk rate actually ties a career-high mark for the three-time All-Star. He hasn’t hit the ball with any authority, however, turning in a bottom-of-the-barrel 83 mph average exit velocity and 17.4% hard-hit rate. Merrifield entered the 2024 season with a gaudy 24.8% line-drive rate in his career but has hit just 16.8% of his batted balls on a line this season.
The late-blooming Merrifield didn’t even reach the majors until his age-27 season in Kansas City, but he almost instantly became not just a fixture on the Royals’ roster but one of the most prolific hitters and base thieves in the league. From 2016-20, Merrifield batted .295/.342/.445 with 58 homers and 119 stolen bases. In addition to leading the majors in hits in 2018 and 2019, he also paced the American League in stolen bases in 2017, 2018 and 2021.
Between that track record, the now minimal price tag and his defensive versatility — he can play second base, third base and all around the outfield — Merrifield should find a new opportunity before long. Grim as his 2024 production (or lack thereof) has been, there are several teams around the league looking for a veteran righty bat and/or help at second base/left field.
The Yankees, Red Sox and Mariners are among the current postseason contenders who’ve received negligible production from second base this year and could speculate on Merrifield turning things around with a change of scenery. (WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets that Boston did not have interest in Merrifield this offseason, but circumstances change.) And, Merrifield’s former Kansas City club has been on the hunt for a bat that can play both the infield and outfield, as noted last month by general manager J.J. Picollo himself.
Phillies Activate Brandon Marsh
The Phillies announced that outfielder Brandon Marsh has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, with utilityman Weston Wilson heading to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Marsh was placed on the IL on June 3 due to a right hamstring strain, so he’ll return to action after just slightly beyond the 10-day minimum.
While the NL-leading Phillies haven’t slowed down in Marsh’s absence, getting the outfielder back is obviously good news for a team that has taken a few injury hits. Trea Turner has missed over six weeks recovering from a more serious hamstring strain, but the star shortstop is reportedly close to returning as well, and could be activated from the IL within the next two or three days. Catcher J.T. Realmuto will miss the next month due to knee surgery, and utilityman Kody Clemens has also been sidelined for the last two weeks with back spasms.
Marsh was hitting .265/.344/.426 over 186 plate appearances at the time of his IL placement, pretty much matching the solid numbers he has posted since arriving in Philadelphia as part of a deadline trade with the Angels in 2022. While the Phillies have tried to limit his exposure to left-handed pitching, Marsh has gotten the lion’s share of playing time as the regular center fielder in 2022 and 2023, and as the regular left fielder this season. Where Marsh plays now that he is back on the active roster could be an interesting situation to observe, as the Phils could opt to give him more time in center field, thus making Whit Merrifield and David Dahl the regular left field platoon.
Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Marsh played in center field during his brief Triple-A rehab stint, and though Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that usage was more about giving Marsh more leeway to test his hamstring, it isn’t hard to see why Marsh might be the Phils’ preferred choice over Johan Rojas in center. Rojas has hit poorly this season, and the stellar glovework that earned him the center field job in the first place has also regressed. He has a -10.8 UZR/150 over 473 1/3 innings in center field this season, and while the Outs Above Average (+2) and Defensive Runs Saved (+1) metrics still have a positive view of his defense, even those numbers are well below his totals from 2023.
A broader decision on the center field job probably doesn’t have to be made until Turner is ready to be activated, and Lauber feels Philadelphia could then option Rojas to Triple-A or designate Cristian Pache for assignment. Pache is out of minor league options and thus would have to be DFA’ed first if the Phils wanted to send him to the minors, so to avoid losing Pache on a waiver claim, the Phillies could instead simply option Rojas to Triple-A to see if his bat can catch fire in the minors.
Phillies Select David Dahl
The Phillies announced a series of roster moves today, placing outfielder Brandon Marsh and infielder Kody Clemens on the 10-day injured list. Marsh has a right hamstring strain and Clemens has low back spasms. The latter’s move is retroactive to May 31. In corresponding moves, they selected the contract of outfielder David Dahl and recalled infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson. To get Dahl onto the 40-man, right-hander Michael Rucker was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Marsh was removed from last night’s game due to his hamstring issue, and manager Rob Thomson said after the game that the 26-year-old was considered day-to-day. It seems the club has decided to let Marsh take it easy for at least ten days to get over the issue, though it may not be a long stint on the IL if it was a borderline case. The club also has the best record in the National League at 41-19, perhaps giving them the luxury of being cautious. Clemens was initially in last night’s lineup before being scratched due to the spasms. It’s unknown how serious his issue is but he will sit out for over a week alongside Marsh.
The subtraction of two position players from the Philadelphia roster will create an opening for Dahl. The 30-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the offseason and he has been playing for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year, utterly mashing so far. He has 12 home runs in 166 plate appearances and has walked 11.4% of the time. His .340/.416/.660 slash line leads to a ludicrous 171 wRC+.
It’s been quite some time since this was the case, but Dahl, the No. 10 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2012, was once touted as one of the sport’s top all-around prospects. He hit the ground running in the majors, posting a .315/.359/.500 slash in 63 games as a rookie and batting .297/.346/.521 through his first 921 MLB plate appearances from 2016-19. Injuries have ravaged Dahl’s career, however, and for several years rendered him a shell of the once-dynamic talent he once looked to be.
Dahl suffered a lacerated spleen in a violent outfield collision and wound up needing to have the organ removed entirely. He’s also battled through a stress fracture in his ribcage, a broken foot, a high ankle sprain, a shoulder strain, multiple back injuries and a quad strain in his big league career. It’s an eye-opening injury history, highlighted by that splenectomy procedure — one that obviously took its toll on Dahl’s body. From 2020-23, he appeared in only 91 big league games and hit just .199/.235/.303 in that time. Even his Triple-A output was often lackluster along the way, but Dahl’s standout production in Lehigh Valley this season marks his strongest run of minor league play since the one that led to his original MLB call-up back in 2016.
Whether Dahl can find a second act in his career after so many physical ailments, the mere fact that he’s played his way back to the majors yet again after so many setbacks is a testament to his perseverance and passion for the game. For now, he’ll give the Phils a short-term option to help cover Marsh’s absence, but the Triple-A power surge is also genuinely intriguing. If Dahl proves he’s once again a big league-caliber bat, he’d be controllable via arbitration through the 2025 season, making him a potential multi-year outfield/bench piece for the Phils in an ideal scenario.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Mets, Braves
The Phillies have already clinched the top NL Wild Card spot with a 89-72 record heading into the final day of the regular season, and have turned their attention to preparing for the club’s playoff run.
Fans in Philadelphia suffered a scare regarding the availability of shortstop Trea Turner yesterday when he exited the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader after being hit in the elbow by a pitch. Fortunately, Turner only suffered a bruise from the incident, as noted by Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As relayed by Coffey, manager Rob Thomson told reporters yesterday that while Turner is unlikely to play in today’s regular season finale, he’s expected to be ready to go for the start of the Wild Card series on Tuesday. After a rough start to his $300MM contract with the Phillies in the first few months of the season, Turner has caught fire at the plate in recent weeks, slashing .339/.391/.677 over his last 47 games. That hot stretch has raised his overall slash line this season to .266/.320/.459, good for an above-average 108 wRC+.
Meanwhile, as the Phillies look for a platoon partner for outfielder Brandon Marsh headed into the playoffs, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb suggests that the club could turn to 29-year-old rookie Weston Wilson. Wilson has appeared in just five games with the Phillies this year, but has hit well in limited playing time, with two hits (including a home run) and six walks in 12 trips to the plate. Wilson, who slashed .325/.416/.609 in 178 trips to the plate against lefties at the Triple-A level this year, could usurp Cristian Pache as the club’s starter in left field against left-handers thanks to Pache’s brutal .091/.231/.152 slash line in 15 games this September.
More from around the NL East…
- Even after reportedly hiring David Stearns to become the club’s new president of baseball operations this offseason, the Mets are still looking to add to their organizational leadership. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, owner Steve Cohen figures to “ramp up” efforts to hire a new team president to replace Sandy Alderson, who vacated the position back in February. The search for a new team president began last September, when Alderson announced he would be stepping down. At the time, the club was reportedly focused on candidates who would be focus primarily on the club’s business operations. Given the impending hiring of Stearns to helm the club’s baseball operations, it stands to reason this plan remains in place as the Mets renew their search for a team president.
- The Braves announced this afternoon that they have recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd, who figures to start today’s regular season finale against Washington. The Braves have long since clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs, allowing the club to offer right-hander Bryce Elder some additional rest ahead of the club’s postseason run. Elder, who’s 180 2/3 innings of work between the majors and minors this season represents a career high, was one of the club’s most reliable starters early in the season but has struggled badly in recent weeks with a 5.26 ERA in ten starts since the calendar flipped to August. With Charlie Morton expected to remain on the injured list until the NLCS, Elder is perhaps the club’s most likely option to start Game 3 of the NLDS behind Max Fried and Spencer Strider.
Phillies Place Dylan Covey On 15-Day Injured List
The Phillies announced four roster moves today, including the news that right-hander Dylan Covey was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 28) due to lower back pain. Infielder Rodolfo Castro was also optioned to the club’s Spring Training complex now that the minor league season is over, while right-hander Luis Ortiz and utilityman Weston Wilson were called up from Triple-A to fill the two open spots on the active roster.
Covey is now ineligible to return until at least October 12, so he wouldn’t be available for a playoff roster unless the Phillies reached the NLCS. Even in that best-case scenario, the Phillies might not prefer to activate a pitcher coming off an extended layoff, and Covey might have been something of a borderline candidate to make the postseason roster even if healthy.
Regardless of the unfortunate ending, 2023 has still been Covey’s most successful season in the big leagues. He posted a 6.57 ERA over 264 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Red Sox from 2017-20 before heading to the Chinese Professional Baseball League for two seasons with the Rakuten Monkeys. Covey pitched well enough to attract the attention of North America, and he inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers that resulted in a single MLB game in Dodger Blue.
Covey was designated for assignment after that lone game in May but quickly claimed off waivers by the Phillies. Powered by a 54.3% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact, Covey has a 3.69 ERA over 39 innings with Philadelphia, posting some quality bottom-line results despite a very modest 15.7% strikeout rate. Even his ERA is somewhat skewed by Covey’s lone start with the Phillies, as he lasted just two-thirds of an inning while allowing five earned runs. In 42 1/3 other innings as a reliever in 2023, Covey’s ERA is 2.76.
Phillies Place Brandon Marsh On 10-Day Injured List
The Phillies have placed outfielder Brandon Marsh on the 10-day injured list with a bruised knee, per a team announcement. Replacing Marsh on the active roster is Weston Wilson, who has had his contract selected by the Phillies today. The club had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary to make room for Wilson. Marsh’s injury occurred last night when he crashed into the center field wall and had to be helped off the field. He underwent an MRI and x-rays after exiting last night’s game, both of which came back negative. Phillies manager Rob Thomson indicated to reporters, including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, that Marsh would be out between two and three weeks with the injury.
The injury comes in the midst of an excellent season with the Phillies, as he’s broken out to slash .284/.369/.463 (124 wRC+) while playing strong defense in center field. While Marsh is on the shelf, Gelb indicates that Johan Rojas will step in as the club’s everyday center fielder. In 16 games with the Phillies this season, Rojas has slashed .300/.333/.375 (93 wRC+) with excellent defense. Also potentially in the center field mix while Marsh recovers is Cristian Pache, who has been on the shelf since mid-July after undergoing elbow surgery but is expected to return before Marsh, per Gelb. In 53 trips to the plate with the Phillies this season, Pache has slashed .327/.365/.592 (156 wRC+) while playing his typically excellent defense in center.
With Rojas currently taking the everyday center field job and Pache on the way as well, that presumably leaves Wilson to fill in elsewhere around the diamond. The 28-year-old Wilson was a 17th-round pick by the Brewers in the 2016 draft and joined the Phillies organization this past season. He’s slashed an impressive .260/.361/.524 in 426 trips to the plate at Triple-A this season while first base, third base, shortstop, and both outfield corners. With the big league club, he’ll likely mix in alongside Edmundo Sosa, Jake Cave, and Rodolfo Castro among the club’s big league bench options.