Phillies activate Aaron Altherr, place Daniel Nava on disabled list

The Phillies activated Aaron Altherr from the disabled list and placed Daniel Nava on the 10-day DL Wednesday, swapping outfielders.

With the Phillies this season, as soon as one player comes back another one hits the disabled list. This time, they swapped outfielders with Aaron Altherr being activated while Daniel Nava was shut down. Both were/are on the disabled list due to hamstring strains.

Nava’s placement on the DL is retroactive to July 23, meaning he can be activated Aug. 2. This kills any chance of the club moving him before the July 31 trade deadline. There is a chance Nava could be moved in the waiver-trade period during August.

However, it seems unlikely Nava would completely clear waivers. The bench outfielder has a .303/.400/.408 line in 180 plate appearances this season. Despite not being a starter, his 1.1 bWAR is still good for ninth on the team overall.

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It’s safe to say a team would want an outfielder like Nava on their bench, but whether or not he could clear waivers is another matter entirely. Even then, a potential package for Nava probably wouldn’t be a whole lot.

With Altherr returning, the team gets back their top hitter this season. The 26-year-old outfielder has 14 home runs, 44 RBI, an .898 OPS, and 1.4 fWAR this year in 79 games.

I wrote Monday about how Altherr’s return from the disabled list would impact the playing time situation in the outfield.

Nava going to the DL clears up that situation a bit, but it doesn’t completely change everything. Manager Pete Mackanin still has to balance playing time in the outfield spots between the hot-hitting Altherr, Howie Kendrick, Nick Williams, and Odubel Herrera while also making sure Cameron Perkins still gets in some swings.

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Mackanin used the most recent Herrera incident to justify giving him some time on the bench, although Mackanin is adamant it’s not a benching. Altherr will man center field while Kendrick is in left and Williams is in right for the next two days. Beyond that, it’s unclear how the playing time will be balanced between the five outfielders on the roster.