On Saturday afternoon, the Phillies wrote Andres Blanco into the lineup to fill in for second baseman Cesar Hernandez. On Friday night, Hernandez suffered an injury making a throw in the Phillies 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, it appears that this may not just be a one-day absence for Hernandez.
Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly is reporting that the injury is a strained oblique which likely means a disabled list stint for Hernandez:
Phillies leadoff man Cesar Hernandez did not simply get a day off on Saturday. The second baseman is hurting and will probably end up on the disabled list.
Hernandez suffered an oblique/abdominal injury making a throw in Friday night's game at Busch Stadium.
Before Phillies fans start clamoring for the Phillies to promote Phillies second base prospect Scott Kingery, it appears that he is not going to get the call.
Salisbury noted that the playing time at second base is likely to go to Howie Kendrick. Kendrick was a starting second baseman for many years for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kendrick was displaced at second base with the Dodgers last season by Chase Utley and saw most of his time in the outfield, though Kendrick still played 32 games at second base for the Dodgers.
As for who may replace Kendrick on the roster, the Phillies could have turned to Roman Quinn, but Quinn is currently on the disabled list with a UCL injury. The full extent of Quinn's injury is still unknown. Quinn was playing a well-rounded game at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and could have taken Kendrick's spot in left. The Phillies are probably not willing to give an opportunity to someone like Nick Williams or Dylan Cozens yet, especially if Hernandez could return in a few weeks. The only real remedy for a strained oblique is rest.
Or, the Phillies could add an additional reliever for the time being. The Phillies bench would be down to one reserve outfielder (Michael Saunders or Daniel Nava) and two reserve infielders (Ty Kelly and Andres Blanco), though both Kelly and Blanco have experience in the outfield. Brock Stassi remains on the Phillies 40-man roster and could be brought back and forth between the Phillies and the minor leagues as necessary.
Prior to his injury, Hernandez was hitting .277 with a .336 on base percentage and an OPS of .735 as the Phillies leadoff hitter.
