TODAY: The Phillies announced they’ve placed Moniak on the 10-day IL, and they’ve recalled Simon Muzziotti from Double-A. The 23-year-old Muzziotti, who hails from Venezuela, ranked 10th among Phillies prospects according to Baseball America. BA gave Muzziotti a 55 grade, noting he’s a plus defender and one of the best hitters in the club’s farm system.
YESTERDAY: Phillies outfielder Mickey Moniak recently suffered a fracture in his right hand, reports Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN (Twitter link). Gill suggests he’ll miss four-to-six weeks, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today indicates it’ll be nearer to the end of that timetable.
Moniak was hit by a pitch in his final exhibition game. While initial x-rays suggested he’d suffered only a bone bruise, further testing revealed the more unfortunate diagnosis. Moniak is certain to wind up on the injured list, a disappointing development after the club announced this morning that he’d made the Opening Day roster.
The left-handed hitting Moniak has made 55 plate appearances in 29 big league games. He’s not coming off a great season, as he hit just .238/.299/.447 in 99 contests with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Moniak has never developed into the kind of impact hitter the Phils were hoping when they selected him with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. He has some speed and can play all three outfield positions, though, making him a possible fourth or fifth outfield option for skipper Joe Girardi.
Losing Moniak only further thins a center field group that already looks like the weak point on the Philadelphia roster. Presumptive starter Odúbel Herrera is on the IL as well after straining an oblique in Spring Training. Matt Vierling looks like the favorite for center field run in the early going, with prospect Simon Muzziotti a candidate for his first MLB call.
Vierling had a nice showing during his first big league run last September, but his .248/.331/.359 line with the IronPigs is far from overwhelming. Baseball America raked Muzziotti tenth in the Phillies farm system this offseason, praising his plus center field defense and athleticism but raising some concerns about his offensive impact. The 23-year-old only has twelve career games above A-ball.
Additionally, the Phils placed catcher Rafael Marchan on the 60-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for top prospect Bryson Stott, who has been promoted to make his major league debut, as previously reported.
bummer
Oopsy. Bet they wish they didn’t trade Adam Haseley now. Still not sure why they did that..
And Luke Williams. Moniak was having a great spring after working with Kevin Long. With all the offense the Phils supposedly have, we can survive one glove first position. But Dyson or Gardner need to have their phones on ….
Luke Williams is going to open some eyes in SF. Had a great approach in camp, just made the roster.
T.,
Let’s take a deep breath with regard to Luke Williams.
Harder reuniting with Girardi would be an interesting little story line
Not really. They have Vierling and Herrera. There was no room for Haseley. As for Luke Williams, his ceiling ie extremely low. I love the kid, but I don’t see him as a major leaguer.
i dunno. i agree with Hase, but Williams is a grinder who has progressively improved as a pro. I would imagine he’d be on this roster if he stuck on the 40.
Haseley was not acquired by Dombrowski, so he had nothing invested in him.
IMO they did him a favour by sending him out…that whole “change of scenery” thing. Hope it works out for the guy….
Don’t miss Haseley at all. Just about any AAAA player can do as well.
Haseley was just a 40 man roster casualty.
Of the (4) left handed hitting CF’ers we have…
Muzziotti will fill in until Odubel and/or Moniak are ready.
Moniak was crushing it in spring. Too bad
Now his hand is crushing it
That Philly defense just somehow got worse
Better actually. Vierling is a much better fielder than Moniak.
Moniak isnt a good CF
For the love…
Really sucks.
Ryan Yarborough should be out for the same amount of time. Throwing inside in useless spring training game. Hopefully karma comes for him.
Come on. I’m bummed too, but that’s a bad take.
Oops. Can still reply on the thread that this is a bad take. Eye for an eye…that way the world will be blind.
Apparently there is no trying in spring ball?
I am sad
Phils need to contact Red Sox about Refsnyder.
Bobtillman – agreed. At this point Duran would be called up before Refsnyder. It would be better to get something for him.
In a meaningless late spring training game. Real bummer as the Phillies looked to have solved the CF platoon with a solid bat. Feel for the kid. He finally had it together.
^^^this^^^
Dombrowski, “Job well done Bryson congrats on heading north with the team…”
Stott, “I just want to contribute and help the team win…”
Dombrowski, “Glad you feel that way, make sure to pack your outfielders glove…”
Stott, “Anything of course……..wait what….?”
Just because the White Sox surprised Vaughn with an OF glove doesn’t mean Philly will follow suit.
Hey thanks for the reply….??
College and AAA ss vs college and AAA 1b man……?
Possible physical similarities aside…..Was just proposing it as an option…as more than a few have opined that Stott may not stick at ss long-term?
Hmm, which of the 2 would be better suited to move to OF in a pinch….Guess I have to toss back at you the apples vs oranges comparison….(as an aside) Vaughn is a superb talent and wish the Phils had him….same draft……
And as a Phillies lifer, yes I lived through the Hoskins nightmare..the Burrell thing…Abreu in rf….other OF issues…AND the Luzinski move, drafted as a 1bman….going waaay back….
Still am only 50…..
Teams will always do what is best for the team and the $……Stott potentially has the stuff to stick in CF short term, so who knows…
BTW good luck with Haseley….I hope he turns it around…..
Cpdpoet – get ready for Castellano and Schwarber who for definitely not good outfielders (granted, one will be the DH, but that still means one will be in the outfield)
@JC#1 We had Andrew McCutchen in the OF last year and he couldn’t move. We’re not going to see anything we haven’t seen last year except for a ton more dingers. That being said, the defense won’t be pretty. My point is just that this won’t be new.
(Head slap)
Mickey Morandini?
terrible news, hopefully he can come back and keep rolling with the stick. had a fantastic spring and probably started opening day. now please dear lord just keep Stott out of the outfield…
Muzziotti coming up initially.
Eric Neander calling on Line One.
He can still keep a bench seat warm though right?
Not one mention in the write up about MM’s 6 Homers this spring.
Spring training MVP… might be the highlight of his career.
yea that was a bit odd… I know ST stats don’t matter to the writers much, but still.. was more than surprised that they completely ignored his insanely good showing this spring.
LMAO ….. you think Spring Training homers actually mean something???? Really??? ….. and yes, the “highlight” of Mickey Moniak’s career is “Spring Training MVP”. Hey man, MM hit 6 homers this spring. Lol
Lighten up Barry. Lol.
Maybe Hoskins can play center field
Too bad. This team is being hit with the injury bug. Make it stop now.
Look I’m bummed about it but it’s 4 to 6 weeks. Call it 5 he’s back in mid-May. I think we can manage that over 162. It’s a far cry from losing your ace for the better part of the first half of the season.
You are right, but it seemed like Moniak was hitting stride and now ANY injury to the hand, wrist etc that may have a “4-6 week” recovery time could take longer to get back in stride…..plus today’s mental stress stuff….
After he is cleared, he’ll be ticketed for aa, then aaa before he can be an MLB option again…
Moniak has had a slow, steady progression in the minors BUT has gotten roasted on a ton of lb sights for not being Juan Soto.
Just want SOME drafted guys being solid pieces…
(and yeah, am holding out for Kingery…)
Hi Dads FYI MLB Extra Innings is free the first week of the season.
you can get Phillie’s feed.
I get all the games..I have the MLB Pkg.
First series vs A’s,perfect timing for a Phillies and Ramon laureano trade. Although he’s suspended for 27 games
‘Born under a bad sign…”
There are a variety of CF still available on the market (Hamilton, DeShields, Gardner, Lagares). None of them can hit, but they can at least field the position for a couple months.
Typically the opposite of what Bob Nightengale says.
I dared to hope MM would pit it together this year. So bummed out over this. He and Odubel will probably be back around d the same time so he will lose playing time. BS.
Honestly if I’m DD and that is the case I’m shopping Odubel for whatever I can get for him. Really think this is Moniak’s breakout year.
UGH
Unfortunate. Moniak hasn’t given any indication yet that he can hit as a pro, but he had a great Spring Training and won a spot on the roster. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off in a couple months.
Phil’s should go get Jimmy Kerrigan and give him a shot. Local guy who is coming off a strong year in the twins organization with an overcrowded outfield. milb.com/player/jimmy-kerrigan-677965
Haseley? Seriously, he has nothing to offer Phillies. He obvious wanted a fresh start. Not a loss to the organization at all. You must be the only person who is lamenting the Haseley trade.
Sign Jimmy Kerrigan. Low risk high reward local guy who did well in the Twins organization with a crowded outfield at all levels.
There’s still a chance he can carve out a career as a lefty platoon bat, though it is clear at this point he won’t come close to meeting the expectations that come with being the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Nick Senzel and Ian Anderson followed him at #2-3. Matt Manning (#9), Josh Lowe (#13), Alex Kiriloff (#15), Gavin Lux (#20), Will Smith-the catcher not the slapper-(#32), Dylan Carlson (#33) – all notable first rounders if you enjoy hindsight.
There were also some pretty serviceable players taken a bit later: Bryan Reynolds (#59), Pete Alonso (#64), Bo Bichette (#66), Corbin Burnes (#111), and Shane Bieber (#122)
… of course, 29 other teams whiffed on not taking those guys earlier. Just goes to show you the draft is mostly a complete crapshoot.
I’m sorry, but he’s incredibly bad and should have never been drafted, much less 1st over freaking all. Better yet, he shouldn’t even be allowed to progress through to the majors. No reason he should be allowed to play over thousands of other guys
He’s hit 6 HR’s this spring.
very bad troll-job
@darkside830, I am on this site 3-4 times a day and often wonder about trolls……What’s the motivation etc etc….
I get it if they are under 16 or under “an” influence…..But the others….? What happened to make them so angry, so bitter and worse yet, if they think they’re clever…oh well….
well, this dude’s a Braves fan seemingly, and I guess he noticed his fanbase was generally represented well on this site and somehow resented that.
@bravesfan He was highly touted, not just by the Phillies. If the Phils didn’t draft him, he still would have went in the top 5. He’s still super young too. So yes, while he’s a bit of a bust so far, the fact that he was starting to get it together showed that the scouts may have been right after all. I was really looking forward to him in the majors. We still may get it in 6 weeks or so, but who knows how he bounces back.
This is clear service time manipulation.
I was at an Arizona Fall League game and up on the scoreboard it said Mickey was the #1 player drafted, I’ve never heard of him, he’s a lot better than he was a couple of years ago
that’s some reporting only mentioning Moniak’s struggles in 59 big league ABs and omitting the insane spring he had after moving closer to the plate. I feel bad for the guy and hope he comes back strong.
If losing Mickey Moniak for 6 weeks to a broken hand impacts the ability of your team to win baseball games …… Then your team is NOT good at baseball. A wasted #1 overall draft pick. Another great “find” by the Phillies scouting department.
@Very Barry Can we stop pretending that other teams weren’t high on Moniak as well? There was tons of hype around him. He’s still super young and has a chance to prove scouts right. He had an absolutely amazing spring training which doesn’t always translate to success, but shows progress.
MM’s great spring could be the result of the new hitting coach…Andrew Long? Look what he did for Schwarber
Not sure why my posts are duplicating, sorry
The problem is too many people want instant gratification, and think being a number 1 pick guarantees instant super stardom. He’s only 23, so jumping on the he’s a bust bandwagon shows a lack of baseball knowledge. Sure, there are former number 1 picks who are stars today but there are also about 10 others who did very little in MLB and some who never even made it to the big leagues.
So many people with 20 / 20 hindsight but think they are experts today….
*SCRANTON SHEEP
The MOOOOOOOOZE era is about to begin….
Phillies over Twins in 2084
Roman Quinn!
What a damn shame! I feel bad for the kid. He’s a great story this spring. I hope he returns and picks up where he left off.
Oh, Muzziotti! I drove one of those…
I guess you have to have speed with a name like that guy…