The Phillies appear to have run into their first major hurdle of what was always going to be a very different season. The team announced on Monday afternoon that they’re placing three players on the COVID list along with two more coaches. There are now five coaches on the list.
The players in question are Jose Alvarado, Ronald Torreyes, and Matt Moore. This is obviously problematic. Alvarado is 2-0 in 2021 with a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched.
Only adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Didi Gregorius will be sidelined today due to an issue with his throwing elbow.
The good news here is that the flurry of worrying news enables two talented prospects to make their debut.
Damon Jones
Jones appeared in High A Clearwater, Double-A Reading, and the highest level of the minor leagues Triple A. Throughout the entire 2019 season in High A and Double-A, Jones produced an excellent cumulative 1.34 earned run average.
However, things started to go downhill in Triple-A for Jones. Pitching in 34 innings, Jones finished his time with the Phillies Triple-A affiliate with a 6.62 ERA. It is a very fair assumption to say that should have Jones pitched more innings, it would have given him a chance to improve the ERA.
Damon Jones recently jumped up 6 spots in the MLB prospect rankings and excelled at A+ and AA, posting a 1.54 ERA in Clearwater and a 0.82 ERA in Reading.
Nick Maton
Maton is not projected to make the MLB until 2022, but has shown he can be more than capable of stepping in if needed. With Gregorius now sidelined, the 6’2 shortstop will be given a shot at the bigs, likely as a bench infielder.
The 24-year-old has a .259/.342/.378 Slash line in the minors for his career, but there’s no doubting that he will benefit from the exposure to playing in the Majors and carries a lot of promise.
The Phillies will face the San Francisco Giants tonight, starting a three-game series before facing the Rockies later in the week.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
