After a six day absence from the lineup, the Best Catcher In Baseball, J.T Realmuto, is headed to the injured list, according to Matt Gelb.
The Earliest that Realmuto will be able to return is next Friday. The All-star was previously confident that he could avoid a further 10-day setback after suffering a Bone bruise at the bottom of his left hand while battling a wild pitch against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the injury Gods had other plans.
Prior to the injury, J.T Realmuto was having yet another stellar year and living up to his ‘BCIB’ reputation. At the plate, he had a .298 batting average, punching in 16 runs on 32 hits. He is currently working a career-high OPS of .886 as well as a new high in OBP Of .400.
Top pitching prospect Spencer Howard will get the start tomorrow after some strong AAA performances, but in terms of replacing Realmuto, Andrew Knapp and Rafael Marchan remain the lead candidates. Knapp has an OBP of .229 and a batting average of .166.
The Phillies and Andrew Knapp avoided arbitration earlier this month with a one-year $1.1 million deal and now looks to be the perfect time to cash in. In only 33 games last year, he matched his career-high in RBI’s (15) and really found his form. Here’s to hoping that Fire can be rekindled over the next week.
The Phillies have had a torrid time managing their IL this season and this doesn’t help matters. After playing -1 roster spot this past week, they’ve finally made the call to register him to the IL, which makes sense, but it comes a little late. Matt Joyce will fill that open roster spot for the time being.
The team are currently preparing to face the Boston Red Sox tonight with Aaron Nola taking the mound. The game will start at 7PM ET.
Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire
