Phillies promote outfielder Travis Jankowski from Triple-A

With the Philadelphia Phillies placing outfielder Roman Quinn on the 60-day injured list Sunday morning with a left Achillies injury, the club made an intriguing corresponding move. According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the Phillies selected the contract of outfielder Travis Jankowski from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Travis Jankowski replaces Roman Quinn on the Phillies roster.

A six-year Major League Baseball veteran who signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies in mid-February, Jankowski was off to an excellent start to the 2021 season with the IronPigs. Through 19 games and 72 plate appearances, the 29-year-old slashed .304/.451/.375 with 13 singles, four doubles, six RBI, 15 walks, and just nine strikeouts.

Playing in as many games with the Phillies this past spring training, Jankowski logged five singles, one triple, six walks, and only five strikeouts across 25 at-bats. He ultimately lost an Opening Day roster spot to fellow outfielder Matt Joyce, who slashed .310/.444/.414 in spring training. Now, both are playing in the majors in red pinstripes.

Jankowski, along with infielder/outfielder Luke Williams — who is competing on the Team USA roster to qualify for the Summer Olympics — catcher Edgar Cabral, and pitchers Enyel De Los Santos and J.D. Hammer, were part of the five-man Phillies taxi squad for road trips earlier this season.

The San Diego Padres drafted Jankowski — a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, native — in the first round, 44th overall, back in 2012. Debuting three years later, he collected a pair of doubles, triples, and home runs each through 34 games and 96 plate appearances.

The veteran has hit just six home runs in his five seasons and 898 big-league plate appearances since. His best season came back in 2018 with the Padres, collecting 90 hits, including 12 doubles, three triples, and four home runs, across 117 games and 387 plate appearances. Jankowski also stole an impressive 24 bases that season. Two years prior, he stole 30 bases.

With Quinn sidelined for likely the rest of the 2021 season, the Phillies will rely on Jankowski as one of their few stolen base threats on the base paths.