Apr 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh (16) reacts after striking out against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
The Phillies placed Brandon Marsh on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain Sunday morning, retroactive to April 17. Cal Stevenson was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill his spot on the roster.
Marsh was initially injured in Wednesday's loss to the San Francisco Giants when a ball hit to center field took a wicked hop on him:
The MLB RBI leader has 'em stumbling out there 😎 pic.twitter.com/11ACkKNZr6
Rob Thomson explained Sunday morning why the Phillies decided to put Marsh on the IL after it initially appeared he would only need to be out a few days.
"He wasn't getting worse, he just wasn't improving," Thomson said before Sunday's series finale against the Miami Marlins. "And he can't run at 100%, so this is the day that you can backdate him the furthest. So we decided to do it."
What Thomson means is that the maximum a player can be retroactively placed on the IL is three days, and April 17 is the first day that Marsh was out of the lineup due to the injury. So he's backdated the maximum number of days, meaning in theory he could return as soon as April 27.
But while the Phillies did make that procedural move and Thomson compared this to the hamstring injuries that cost Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper less than two weeks a year ago, you get the sense that the Phillies may use this as a chance to allow Marsh to reset after a nightmarish start where he's hit just .095 with a minus-0.8 WAR in 17 games.
"He'll go on the road with us," Thomson said. "He'll continue to keep running and doing his drill work, and once he can run 100%, we'll send him out to get some at-bats."
Marsh will be able to rehab for up to 20 days once the Phillies start his clock, presumably with Triple-A Lehigh Valley or Double-A Reading. While it feels unlikely they'll use all of that, it would be nice to see him have some good swings before coming back to the Phillies.
Also, for anyone confused about Marsh's injury being listed as a hamstring when it was his right knee that the Phillies talked about the last few days, don't read too much into that. Thomson said the area in question is the back of Marsh's knee and it runs up into his hamstring. Thomson said the injury is "as mild as it can be."
Johan Rojas has had a very nice week at the plate in Marsh's absence, and is again in the lineup as the starting center fielder as the Phillies go for the sweep Sunday against the Fish. He projects to get the bulk of the at-bats in the absence of Marsh, particularly if he stays hot. Stevenson did drive in six runs in 18 games for the Phillies a year ago, so he's also an option.
