Brandon Marsh is not in the Philadelphia Phillies lineup for their game Monday night against the Minnesota Twins as he rests a sore elbow. Utility man Weston Wilson will start in his place.
Wilson has only played in seven games for the Phillies this season, but is 5-18 with a home run and a stolen base.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Marsh is feeling “much better today” compared to yesterday, per Nathan Ackerman of Phillies Nation. Marsh played through the soreness on Saturday and did not play on Sunday, but Thomson added that he will return to the lineup on Tuesday.
Thomson also confirmed, per Ackerman, that it was not a matchup decision; the lefty hitter would have faced Twins righty Bailey Ober if it was not for his elbow.
Marsh has feasted off of right-handed pitching this year, batting .290 with an .873 OPS and a .387 BABIP. Additionally, all nine of his home runs have come against righties.
The Phillies began the second half of the season by dropping two out of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, but also enter action on Monday as the favorite to win the World Series, per FanGraphs, which gives them a 16.1% chance.
Brandon Marsh and the Phillies' outfield woes
Despite his solid season numbers, Marsh is in the middle of an 0-11 slide and is hitting just .200 in July, further exacerbating the team's struggles in the outfield. He still has a 117 OPS+ in left field, the best out of the three everyday starting outfielders. Johan Rojas, the 23-year-old second-year centerfielder, is hitting .232 with a .566 OPS and 61 OPS+. Next to him, Nick Castellanos continues to homer during major historical moments, but has been a below-average hitter, batting .239 with a 96 OPS+.
It leaves the Phillies with a couple clear moves to make as the 2024 MLB trade deadline approaches. For one, they could use someone to platoon with Marsh against lefties. As well as he has hit righties, Marsh is hitting just .143 against lefties in 49 at bats this season. His career-long numbers aren't promising either, with a .211 career average against left-handed pitchers.
Thomson indicated before the season started that the organization doesn't yet view Marsh as a guy who can consistently face lefties.
“I still believe that at some point … I mean, he has improved against lefties,” he told The Athletic. “And I think, at some point, he’s an everyday guy.”
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski followed that up in another Athletic interview in June with a comment on what the team will look for at the trade deadline.
“What you have to decide yourself is: What little thing makes you better at a particular time to win a ballgame versus a certain guy?” he said. “Versus a left-handed pitcher, versus a right-handed pitcher? That is really what you focus on.”
The Phillies added some depth to their outfield situation on Monday by signing David Dahl to a minor league deal two weeks after they designated him for assignment. He will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to Iron Pigs writer
Tom Housenick.
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