Day Care Down: Phillies Place Brandon Marsh on I.L.

The Phillies offense has been inconsistent this season, and that’s putting it nicely.

Now they’ll have to continue to find some consistency without their most productive player, based on OPS, for at least the next couple weeks.

Brandon Marsh was placed on the 10-day I.L. with a bruised left knee after crashing into the centerfield wall trying to make a catch on Saturday:

Brandon Marsh leaves the game after crashing into the centerfield wall 😔 pic.twitter.com/gJASUfrVmZ

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) August 5, 2023

Marsh appeared to be in serious pain in the moment and needed assistance walking off the field. He was still hobbling around after the game last night and arrived in the clubhouse this morning on crutches.

Manager Rob Thomson said Marsh would miss about 2-3 weeks.

Marsh has played in 101 of 111 games so far this season, and only missed two because of a sore shoulder. The other eight were off days, usually against a tough left-handed pitcher.

He is slashing .284/.369/.463 with a team-leading OPS of .833. His OPS+, a stat that measures his production compared to the rest of the league and takes ballparks into consideration, is 127. League average is 100. That ranks him tied for 26th among all hitters in baseball (as a comparison, Shohei Ohtani leads all of baseball with an OPS+ of 188).

To replace him, the Phillies have purchased the contract of Weston Wilson from AAA Lehigh Valley and added him to the 40-man roster. The Phillies had an open spot on the 40-man after sending Rule 5 draft pick Noah Song back to Boston last Friday.

Wilson, 28, opened some eyes in Spring Training, both with his hitting and his versatility to play six positions. Wilson has continued to impress this season with the Iron Pigs.

In 426 plate appearances Wilson has slashed .260/.361/.524 with an OPS of .884. He leads Lehigh Valley in homers (25), RBI (69), runs (67), walks (56), and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases (23).

Weston Wilson gets the call up with Brandon Marsh officially heading to the IL.

Wilson was a standout in Spring Training and is slashing .260/.361/.524 with 25 HRs and 69 RBIs in 100 games down in LHV.

pic.twitter.com/CKj9pzR1Oo

— Luke Arcaini (@ArcainiLuke) August 6, 2023

On the negative side, he also led the Pigs in strikeouts with 113.

He was a choice over Simon Muzziotti, who is having an outstanding season in Lehigh Valley and was on the 40-man roster already because the Phillies are scheduled to face a few lefties coming up this week, so they preferred a right-handed bat to a left-handed one.

This callup likely ends whatever sliver of a chance Scott Kingery ever had of being recalled to the Phillies, as he has the same versatility as Wilson, and also hits right-handed and has similar numbers, with the exception of home runs.

Wilson wasn’t told he was coming up to the Phillies until about 10 this morning and then had to hop in a car and drive to South Philly from Allentown, so the Phillies didn’t expect him to arrive until right around game time.

Thomson said the Phillies will lean a little more heavily on Johan Rojas to play centerfield for the time being, but said Jake Cave is a possibility out there in the short term as well, likely against a tough righty.

Cristian Pache should be back from rehabbing his elbow before Marsh returns as well, giving Thomson another option. Thomson said before Saturday’s game that he felt the Phillies can carry Marsh, Rojas and Pache on the roster at the same time. even if it created a little less flexibility in the infield and reiterated that again today.

In that scenario, assuming everyone else is healthy, the Phillies would likely send Rodolfo Castro down as he has an option remaining, and Edmundo Sosa does not.

But the Phillies have to get there, and that decision won’t have to be made for another 2-3 weeks at this point.

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