Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan has a right groin strain, but he won’t go on the injured list
Bowlan, the Phillies’ primary setup man, says this injury isn’t as ‘extreme’ as the one he suffered in April, and interim manager Don Mattingly explained why they’re leaving him on the active roster.
NEW YORK — When reliever Jonathan Bowlan strained his right groin in April, the Phillies placed him on the injured list for 15 days.
That won’t be the case now.
Because although Bowlan was diagnosed Friday with a right groin strain and interim manager Don Mattingly conceded that it may result in a stint on the injured list at any other time of the season, the setup man will remain active to be eligible for the wild-card series.
» READ MORE: Jesús Luzardo ‘definitely concerned’ as inflamed left shoulder lands him on the injured list
“I thought the news was pretty good,” said Mattingly, who added that it’s a “mild strain,” according to the medical report. “It’s something that we’re going to try to work through, obviously keep evaluating daily.”
Bowlan tweaked his groin on his second-to-last pitch to the Mets’ Nick Morabito in the eighth inning Thursday night. He said postgame that the injury didn’t feel as bad as earlier in the season.
“It’s not that extreme,” he said.
Bowlan emerged as the Phillies’ primary setup man in July when Brad Keller was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery. But after a solid first half, he has struggled recently, allowing runs in five consecutive appearances before Thursday night.
Mattingly said the Phillies are better prepared to keep Bowlan on the roster, even if he’s unavailable, because they’re carrying an extra reliever in September. They also picked up veteran righty José Urquidy off waivers this week, giving them another multiple-inning option out of the bullpen.
But Mattingly stressed that the Phillies also believe Bowlan could be ready before the postseason, which opens Sept. 29. If he went on the injured list, he wouldn’t be eligible to return until Oct. 3.
“I mean, it sounded good,” Mattingly said. “They’re calling it a strain. I think if it was worse than that, there would be no reason to try to work through it, right? It’s something that we feel like he can work through. We’ll just keep watching it and go from there.”
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Without Bowlan, rookie Alex McFarlane will be the top right-handed setup option, if he wasn’t already, in front of closer Jhoan Duran. Orion Kerkering hasn’t pitched since last Saturday night in Atlanta because of turf toe, although Mattingly said he remains available.
“I think he’s ready to go, even though he hasn’t been used,” Mattingly said. “It’s just because the game wasn’t in his spot. Yeah, I think he’s ready to go.”
From the left side, the Phillies have Tim Mayza, Brooks Raley, and Tanner Banks, in addition to top option José Alvarado. Mayza and Banks are available to pitch more than one inning, and Mayza started as an opener here Friday night.
Waiting on Luzardo
Although Jesús Luzardo hasn’t been cleared to resume throwing, Mattingly said he was encouraged by the progress of the star lefty’s inflamed left shoulder.
“I feel a lot better about him just from the standpoint that he’s feeling better,” Mattingly said. “What we thought was going to happen is happening.”
Mattingly said there’s “no schedule” for when Luzardo will try to play catch.
» READ MORE: Brandon Marsh has struggled to make adjustments, and it’s broken his breakout season
Benching Brandon
Despite a deep second-half slump that has put Brandon Marsh on the bench against lefty starters, Mattingly said he isn’t ready to take him out of the lineup against right-handed pitchers, too.
“I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Mattingly said. “I don’t think I have the right [alternative] for that spot.”
Besides, Marsh did start the All-Star Game for the National League. Through the end of June, he was batting .317 with an .868 OPS. Since then, he’s hitting .181 with a .492 OPS.
Mattingly knows the Phillies need him to snap out of it more than they need to replace him.
“I feel like we need him, and we feel like he’s getting closer to what we want him to be,” Mattingly said. “I will say, it’s easier to pull trigger quicker on the pinch-hitter at times. But other than that, I’m not really thinking about flipping a righty into that spot.”
Extra bases
Urquidy joined the Phillies before the game and was set to come into the game behind Mayza and pitch multiple innings. The veteran righty isn’t eligible for the playoffs because he wasn’t in the organization before Sept. 1. “Hired gun,” Mattingly said. “I’ve seen it before, seen it multiple times over the years, where a guy can’t pitch in the playoffs, but he has a chance to help you get there.” To open a roster spot for Urquidy, the Phillies optioned lefty Kyle Backhus to triple A. … Andrew Painter (3-9, 5.54 ERA) is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. Saturday against Mets righty Christian Scott (4-5, 3.76). They were high school teammates for one year at Calvary Christian in South Florida.
Matt Klentak's fingerprints are still on the Phillies' roster six years after he was the team's general manager. These days, Klentak is part of the front office for the Brewers, who recently clinched their fourth consecutive NL Central title. With the Brewers coming to town Tuesday, Klentak joined Phillies Extra to discuss his current and former teams. Watch here.
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