In a roster move we had been waiting for and expecting for days now, the Philadelphia Phillies announced on Saturday that outfielder Brandon Marsh has been activated from the 10-day injured list.
Marsh first went on the IL with a strained right hamstring on June 3 after pulling up while rounding second base against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday Night Baseball. Before his injury, Marsh was hitting .265 with a .770 OPS, six home runs, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases in 52 games.
Prior to today’s game, the Phillies returned OF Brandon Marsh from his rehab assignment with Reading (AA) and reinstated him from the 10-day injured list. To make room for him on the 26-man roster, INF/OF Weston Wilson was optioned to Lehigh Valley (AAA).
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 15, 2024
The 26-year-old was eligible to come off the IL on Thursday but had to get into a couple of rehab games before the team felt comfortable bringing him back. In his two games with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, Marsh went 4-for-8, scored a pair of runs and even tried to steal a base. While he got caught in the attempt, the fact that he felt good enough to try indicates he's back to 100 percent.
Phillies' first roster crunch casualty comes after Brandon Marsh activated off IL
In the corresponding roster move, outfielder Weston Wilson has been optioned back down to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Wilson made a minimal impact while with the Phillies, appearing in two games and going 0-for-4 at the plate. His demotion back to the minors doesn’t come as a big surprise, as he was one of the few bench players with minor league options remaining.
The full roster crunch should really take shape tomorrow, or whenever shortstop Trea Turner returns from his strained hamstring. Indications are that it will be soon, as early as Sunday, and will likely spell the end for one of Cristian Pache or David Dahl.
Pache is slashing .206/.301/.270 in 73 plate appearances over his sporadic playing time this season. Dahl has played a solid left field in his six starts since being called up, and despite hitting just .217 in 23 plate appearances, has a couple of big home runs and is slugging .565.
They are the most likely candidates to be cut, and both are out of options, so whoever's the odd man out will be designated for assignment and have to pass through waivers before we learn their fate.