Scott Kingery to take over as Phillies shortstop with J.P. Crawford out

J.P. Crawford landed on the disabled list Sunday morning after sustaining an elbow strain. Scott Kingery will now take over the position in his absence.

The Phillies placed shortstop J.P. Crawford on the disabled list Sunday morning with an elbow strain. He exited Saturday night’s game early and manager Gabe Kapler said after the game a DL stint was possible.

The rookie said he lost feeling in his elbow after making a relay throw during Saturday night’s loss. He also said the injury has been plaguing him for a few days, potentially being the reason why he had three errors in the four previous games.

Crawford has gotten off to a slow start this season. In 21 games with 71 plate appearances, he has a .188/.246/.328 line with two home runs and six runs batted in. His trademark plate discipline has not been there as he has a meager 5.6 percent walk rate and 26.8 percent strikeout rate.

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For the meantime, Kapler said Scott Kingery will take over at shortstop. He is in the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Braves. Kapler has been trying to get Kingery into the lineup as much as possible at pretty much any position this year. Crawford’s injury gives Kingery a chance to get some steady playing time.

Kingery started off the year strong but has now taken a step back. He has just four hits in his last 11 games, racking up 14 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances. Perhaps getting back in the lineup every day could help him turn things around.

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Also look to see Pedro Florimon get some playing time in Crawford’s absence. He has played 13 games so far, starting just two. He made the team as a non-roster invitee this season but hasn’t seen much playing time with Kingery serving as the primary bench player. Florimon could fill Kingery’s old role if Kingery becomes the everyday shortstop.

Jesmuel Valentin was called up to replace Crawford on the major-league roster. He got off to a decent start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, hitting .242 with a .744 OPS in 18 games. Valentin has been a second baseman his entire professional career, but started moving around the diamond this year.

He started three games at third base, one at shortstop, and one in left field this season in Triple-A.

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Cesar Hernandez could also move over to shortstop every now and then in a bind. There was some thought that he would do that this season, but he has played all 24 of his game so far at second base. It appears Kapler doesn’t want to move him from there, but the situation has changed.