J.T. Realmuto has been taking more than just the usual beating that catchers go through at the major league level. He has repeatedly had foul balls go off of his right foot, keeping the foot swollen. The 35-year-old missed a game in San Francisco because of the injury. On Friday night, he reached for a throw from Adolis Garcia on a play at the plate and jammed his knee into the dirt. The worst part of the jolt though was taken by his back on the play as the shot taken by his knee traveled to his lower back.
By the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game, Realmuto was too stiff to continue and left the game in favor of Rafael Marchan. As it turned out, most Phillies fans suffered a pain in an area a little below their lower back when they sat through the rest of the Phillies game that ended as a 3-1 loss to division rival Atlanta.
Manager Rob Thomson said that he does not expect J.T. to require a stint on the IL, but it is likely that he will not play Sunday against Atlanta. Thomson believes he will be in the lineup Monday when the Phillies play in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Saturday night’s loss was the fourth straight for the Phillies, who have dropped four games under the .500 mark and are now 5 1/2 games behind Atlanta, in fifth place in the NL East. A thank you to the Mets, who have now lost 10 straight. If not for the New Yorkers, the Phillies would officially be basement dwellers. In addition to the Mets and Phillies losing skids, the Marlins have now lost four straight and the Washington Nationals have dropped their last two games. The Braves have opened a five-game lead in the NL East.
Should Realmuto need to go on the IL, the Phillies do not have a third catcher on the 40-man roster, which is currently full. Garrett Stubbs would be the likely choice, but the Phillies would need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for him and then put him through waivers for the second time this season if they wanted to send him back down after Realmuto returned. The Phillies also have Paul McIntosh and Caleb Ricketts on the Lehigh Valley roster as other options.
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