Phillies injury news: Altherr headed to DL, Hernandez to be activated
By John Town
The Phillies are expected to place Aaron Altherr on the disabled list with a hamstring strain and activate Cesar Hernandez Monday.
Aaron Altherr’s hamstring injury was only expected to be day-to-day, but according to Matt Gelb of Philly.com, the injury has not improved since Friday night. Altherr hurt his hamstring when he hit his second double of the night and grabbed the back of his right leg as he cruised into second base. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin took him out of the game and Altherr has not played since.
The team will wait until Monday to decide what to do with Altherr, but Gelb isn’t optimistic. He reports that Altherr will likely end up on the disabled list.
Altherr has been Philadelphia’s best hitter this season. In 79 games, Altherr had a .288/.359/.539 slash line with 14 home runs and 44 RBI. Without Altherr, there is little pop in the lineup.
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Meanwhile, Gelb also reports that second baseman Cesar Hernandez could also be activated from the disabled list Monday and take Altherr’s spot on the roster. He hasn’t played since June 9 because of a strained abdominal muscle.
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Hernandez played three rehab games with High-A Clearwater. While he didn’t collect a hit, he walked three times and said that he is ready to return. He will rejoin the team Monday in Miami and could immediately fill the void left by Altherr in the leadoff spot.
In 58 games before landing on the disabled list, Hernandez had a .277/.336/.399 line with five home runs and 40 runs scored. He is the team’s fifth-most valuable position player this season despite the missed time with 1.0 fWAR.
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Since Hernandez has been on the disabled list, Andres Blanco and Ty Kelly have filled in for him at second base. Neither is hitting above .200 season and Kelly’s .532 OPS is the better of the two. It’s safe to say Hernandez will definitely be a welcome addition to the lineup.