Phillies are hurting, but avoid worst-case scenario with Trea Turner

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies on Monday lost two key position players to the injured list. Third baseman Alec Bohm and shortstop Trea Turner were both placed on the 10-day IL. Turner has a Grade 1 right hamstring strain.

It’s very good news, all things considered. The Phillies were staring down the barrel of a postseason without their best pitcher Zack Wheeler and their starting shortstop in the middle of his best season yet with the Phillies.

Philadelphia expects Turner to be back for the postseason. Maybe even a little earlier. He removed himself from Sunday’s game against the Marlins in the seventh inning after running to first base.

The Bohm news came as a bit of a surprise. He is dealing with “left shoulder inflammation.” It’s been nagging him for the last two weeks, per manager Rob Thomson. The Phillies are hopeful that he’ll be back after the 10-day minimum stint.

That could explain Bohm’s recent slump. He has three hits in his last 33 at-bats.

“I don’t think there was any one thing that he did that affected this or started it,” Thomson said about Bohm. “I think it’s just swinging.”

Brandon Marsh is not in the starting lineup, though he is not going on the IL. He is dealing with a rough case of the flu.

Otto Kemp was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Turner’s spot. Infielder Donovan Walton had his contract selected as the corresponding move for Bohm. To make room for Walton on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Daniel Robert was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

With the entire left side of the starting infield on the injured list, the Phillies had to make some interesting lineup decisions for Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets. Bryce Harper, for the first time since the end of 2022, is batting leadoff. He has been hesitant about hitting first in the past, but he’s “excited” for the change.

“It’s something we kind of all wanted to try,” Harper said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Max Kepler, once a DFA candidate in the middle of the summer, is batting cleanup and playing left field. Harrison Bader is behind him in the fifth spot, with Nick Castellanos batting sixth against the right-handed pitcher Nolan McLean.

Kyle Schwarber, who has been stuck on 49 home runs since his four-homer game on Aug. 28, remains in the two hole.

“We’re just talking about stacking everybody at the top,” Thomson said. “Give them as many at-bats as we can and go from there.”

As far as how the Phillies will handle shortstop without Turner, Edmundo Sosa is slated to get most of the reps at the position. Bryson Stott is also an option to slide over from second base to shortstop, though the Phillies would probably prefer to keep him at his regular position. Walton played 11 games at shortstop for Lehigh Valley and is an option. Top prospect Aidan Miller, who was recently promoted to Triple-A, was not an option to take Turner’s spot on the major league roster.

Turner last year missed about six weeks from May 4 to June 17 with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. The expected timeline for recovery is shorter this time around.

Thomson compared Turner’s injury to a hamstring strain that Sosa suffered in September of 2022. He was placed on the IL on Sept. 16 and was activated in time to be on the roster for the wild card series against St. Louis, which began on Oct. 6.

“It’s kind of the same thing the way I look at it,” Thomson said.

If Turner were to replicate Sosa’s timeline, he would be back for the final regular season series against the Minnesota Twins.

The Phillies are going through it right now, but they have avoided disaster. The Phillies are fortunate to have a sizable cushion for both the division crown and a bye to the Division Series.

The lead in the NL East is at seven with four to play against New York. The lead for the second-best record among division winners in the National League over the Dodgers is four with three more to play against Los Angeles next week at Dodger Stadium. Getting the bye — and getting Turner a bit more time to recover — is even more important for the Phillies, who have a lot to play for with 19 games left in the regular season.

“I mean, we’ve been here before,” Thomson said. “We lost Schwarber and Harper on the same day last year and just kept rolling. We got to do the same thing. It’s the next man up.”