The Philadelphia Phillies outfield situation got a whole lot darker, as right-fielder Adolis Garcia will likely miss the rest of the season.
According to an announcement by the Phillies, Garcia, who left Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a shoulder injury, was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right latissimus dorsi tear. Garcia injured his shoulder after attempting to throw out George Springer at the plate on a sacrifice fly by Kazuma Okamoto.
To compensate for the 33-year-old going on the injured list, the Phillies have recalled outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Calling up Rincones Jr. is a surprise, but it is also not a surprise. At 25, Rincones Jr. should have already debuted with the Phillies. However, injuries (two knee issues to begin this season) and his inability to hit left-handed pitching (.200/.478 and three strikeouts in 15 at-bats) have kept him from the big leagues.
Since his return to the diamond, Rincones Jr. has not done well, batting .239 with a .628 OPS in 12 games in Lehigh Valley.
The Phillies’ outfield reaches new lows with Adolis Garcia’s injury
Even though Garcia was not the Phillies’ best hitting outfielder, he was solid defensively, having four outfield assists.
Now that Garcia is gone, the Phillies will likely use a platoon in both center field and right field. A combination of Rincones Jr., Hill and Justin Crawford will be shuffled about until Berroa is back, then he’ll be tossed in the mix.
Against right-handed pitchers, the outfield could look like: Brandon Marsh in left field, Crawford in center field and Rincones Jr. in right field.
Against left-handed pitchers: Marsh in left field, Berroa/Hill in center field and Berroa/Hill in right field.
The roster becomes even tougher once Steward Berroa returns
Berroa being placed on the paternity list only delays the inevitable: designating one of Garrett Stubbs or Rafael Marchan for assignment. Carrying three catchers has not worked for the Phillies, with Stubbs suffering from a lack of playing time (Stubbs’ last game played was June 2).
Needing the outfield depth rather than the catching depth, the Phillies are likely to gamble on losing either Stubbs or Marchan to the waiver wire to keep someone like Berroa on the roster. A team will claim one of them, as a handful of teams, like the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox could use a decent backup catcher.