Phillies don’t know how long they’ll be without Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto
Hoskins and Realmuto — two of the team’s best hitters — will have MRIs on Monday to determine how long they'll be out for with just 15 games left in the season.
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Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto will both have MRIs on Monday, as the Phillies try to determine how long they will be without two of their top hitters with just 15 games remaining in the season and their playoff chances beginning to dwindle.
Hoskins injured his left forearm on Saturday night, when a Marlins baserunner collided with his glove hand on a play at first base. An X-ray on Sunday morning was negative, but he still felt soreness. Realmuto left Saturday’s game with hip soreness. They both missed the team’s two losses on Sunday, which dropped the Phillies to third place in the National League East.
“It’s a real concern anytime anyone gets an MRI,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We want to get an idea of what exactly is going on and give us a better way of treating it and knowing how long to expect that they’re going to be out. Is it going to be three to five days? Is it going to be 10 days? What’s it going to be? That’s why we’re going to do the MRIs.”
The Phillies promoted catching prospect Rafael Marchan from Allentown, a sign that Realmuto’s absence could be prolonged. Andrew Knapp caught both games on Sunday, and Marchan will likely see some time behind the plate if Realmuto cannot return in the next few days.
Hoskins spent Sunday receiving treatment and could play in Monday’s series finale if his MRI is clean and the pain lessens.
“I never had anything like this happen, fortunately,” Hoskins said. “So I’m not really sure what to look forward to in terms of how it’s supposed to feel or how it might feel. It’s pretty sore today, but the soreness did kind of let up as I got treatment throughout the day, so that’s a good sign. Hopefully, it responds well overnight.”
Realmuto (11 homers) and Hoskins (10) lead the team in home runs. Hoskins' .887 OPS is second-best, followed by Realmuto’s .883. Hoskins has nine homers in his last 19 games, as he was heating up as the team entered the stretch run.
The Phillies scored just two runs and had two extra-base hits without them on Sunday. It was hard to replace them for one day. And the Phillies will find out Monday how many more days it will be.
“You’re missing two pretty big bats in your lineup,” Girardi said.