The Philadelphia Phillies made a series of roster moves on Thursday to address the suddenly dire outfield situation.
First, outfielder Brandon Marsh has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle. In a corresponding move, designated hitter Bryce Harper has been placed on the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move to the corresponding move, the Phillies claimed outfielder Bradley Zimmer off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Let’s start with Harper.
His move to the 60-day IL is simply a housekeeping measure. Harper, who has been out of the lineup since late June with a broken thumb, is eligible to return to the Phillies next week. The reigning NL MVP took batting practice earlier this week for the first time since having thumb surgery. Harper is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment in the next few days and possibly return by next week or early the following week.
Now onto Marsh.
Marsh dodged a serious knee injury after taking a nasty spill the other night trying to rob a homerun. While all imaging showed no damage to his knee, Marsh did suffer what the team is calling a sprained ankle. He will be out of the lineup until further notice.
To make up for Marsh’s move to the injured list, the Phillies claimed Zimmer off waivers from the Blue Jays. Zimmer is a former first round pick and top prospect, he has seen limited plate appearances during his Major League career. What he lacks at the plate, Zimmer makes up for in the field and on the basepaths. He will serve as a stopgap until Marsh and Harper are ready to return to the lineup.
