In a Philadelphia Phillies lineup with a handful of underperforming bats, nobody has disappointed more than Brandon Marsh. The 27-year-old outfielder is in the midst of an 0-for-31 slump that saw his last hit come on March 30. He has just four hits and 16 strikeouts on the season, creating some ridiculously terrible offensive numbers, such as an .095 average and .220 on-base percentage. Marsh's play put him in some serious danger of being demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
After all, he does have two minor league options remaining and the Phillies have a couple of solid outfielders on the IronPigs who could replace Marsh in the majors. A right hamstring injury on April 16 against the San Francisco Giants saved Marsh from an inevitable demotion, with the Phillies recalling Cal Stevenson to take his place.
Marsh was progressing well in his rehab at Lehigh Valley and was getting ready to rejoin the Phillies until a recent development.
Brandon Marsh may rejoin the Phillies this weekend after brief hamstring setback
After getting some needed rest, Marsh was thrown into live Triple-A action in his rehab stint with the IronPigs last weekend. In his four rehab games, Marsh hit 2-for-11 with six strikeouts, so still a bit concerning, especially against weaker pitching. What's even more concerning is that Marsh was pulled from his fourth game with a cramp in the same right hamstring that placed him on the injured list, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Marsh was eligible to come off the 10-day IL on April 30, just days after he tweaked his hamstring again. However, it appears that Marsh's re-aggrevation of his hamstring isn't as serious as originally thought, with his activation possibly only being delayed by a few days, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber.
This report appears to confirm that Marsh will rejoin the Phillies despite his struggles, with him possibly being sent down if they continue. The Phillies' upcoming weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks is big for the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two potential Wild Card teams, so the team can't afford many more uncompetitive at-bats from Marsh, who figures to be on as short of a leash as ever when he returns to Philadelphia.
With Marsh on the shelf, Johan Rojas has become the Phillies' everyday center fielder. He has been a welcome contributor at the bottom of their order, with a .288 average and .713 OPS, both improvements from 2024. They also got healthier by activating Weston Wilson off the injured list, who can provide the club with outfield depth.
It's unknown what Marsh's future with the Phillies holds, but what we do know is it'll be at least a few more days until he suits up for the Phillies again.