Prior to their matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, the Phillies made a couple of moves to the 26-man roster.
They activated JT Realmuto to the roster and recalled Yunior Marte from Triple-A. To make room for both players, Rafael Marchan and Michael Mercado were demoted to Lehigh Valley.
Phillies Make Moves
The Phillies are finally getting their pieces back off the Injured List. At various points, Realmuto, Turner, Harper, and Schwarber have spent time off the field due to injury. With JT’s return, they have restored their core to proper health.
Prior to the injury, Realmuto was hitting .261 on the season with 7 homeruns. The Phillies’ catcher was a finalist in the fan voting portion of All-Star voting and had he remained healthy, could have found himself on the roster.
JT had to undergo meniscectomy surgery in his right knee. The injury was something he could play through but the pain had gotten too much for the Phillies’ backstop. With the team having such a strong lead in the division, they decided it would be best for him to undergo surgery.
With a solid month of rehab, Realmuto feels good to go. He is a warrior behind the plate and now has a healthy leg to stand on (quite literally).
Corresponding Moves
Rafael Marchan was sent back to Triple-A this afternoon despite many calling for him to replace catcher Garrett Stubbs on the roster.
Marchan had hit .294 in 17 games. He had three homeruns and four doubles across those games with an OPS of .894. He was solid defensively as well, throwing out 4 runners on stolen base attempts.
His success in this sort of period bodes well for the young catcher. The organization clearly thinks highly of him and he could potentially take Stubb’s position after this season. His performance in Lehigh Valley will certainly be one to follow in the coming weeks.
The Phillies also demoted Michael Mercado this afternoon. After an impressive relief appearance in his debut and a strong start in Wrigley Field, things fell apart for Mercado. He was rocked against the Atlanta Braves and Oakland A’s in his following two appearances. Due to this, the Phillies felt it was best to return him to the minor leagues.
Yunior Marte returns to the big leagues where he has 15 appearances on the season. In Triple-A, Marte has pitched to a 6.92 earned run average in 12 games.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
