The Phillies got an update on the condition of shortstop Trea Turner before Saturday night’s game against the Giants and Citizens Bank Park.
It wasn’t great.
Turner, who is hitting .343 and has been a sparkplug out of the second spot in the batting order all year, is expected to miss at least six weeks with the strained left hamstring injury he suffered while scoring what proved to be the decisive run in the fourth inning Friday night. He had played in every game this season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
He’s been placed on the 10-day IL. Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill his spot on the roster.
“When it happened, I thought it was a little more serious than anything I’ve had in the past,” Turner said, standing in the middle of the clubhouse. “I didn’t expect it to be good to go (immediately). But it could have been a lot worse than it was.
“Anything before six weeks would be a win. That’s what they tell me as of right now, but with injuries in general I think it’s tough to put a timeline on that.”
Turner’s injury came at a time not only when he was one of baseball’s hottest hitters but when the team had won 14 of its last 18 games and had just edged ahead of the Braves at the top of the NL East standings.
Philadelphia Phillies
As much as his presence will be missed, it’s obviously also unknown how long, or even if, he’ll be able to pick up where he left off.
Edmundo Sosa started at shortstop Saturday night. Bryson Stott, who was primarily a shortstop when he first came up in 2022 then played exclusively at second last year, is also expected to see some time at short.
When Stott is at shortstop, Whit Merrifield and Clemens are likely to see the bulk of the playing time at second.
J.T. Realmuto will bat second until further notice.
“It’s tough,” said manager Rob Thomson. “It’s one of the best players in the game you’re losing. But we’ve been through this before and people just pick it up. That’s why you have a team. For the most part, Sosa is going to play short. But you have to be careful with him, too, because he hasn’t played every day. If you run him out there 10 days in a row, you’re probably putting him in danger.
“When he doesn’t play, I think we’re comfortable with Stott playing short with Whit or Clemens playing second.”
Stott hasn’t taken grounders at short this season and the tarp was on the field before Saturday’s game. Thomson said he’d like to have him work out at his old-new position before putting him there in a game.
Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube