Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters, including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that outfielder Cristian Pache is set to undergo surgery to remove a screw from his throwing elbow tomorrow. Pache is expected to return this season, though Coffey notes that Thomson said he’ll be out for a “few weeks” nonetheless.
It’s an unfortunate update for Pache, who was placed on the injured list Friday with right-elbow irritation. A former consensus top-20 prospect in the entire sport, Pache came up with the Braves before being swapped to Oakland in the Matt Olson deal. He struggled badly with the A’s last year, slashing just .166/.218/.241 in 91 games. That prompted Oakland to designate Pache for assignment during Spring Training this season before dealing him to the Phillies just before Opening Day.
Tomorrow’s surgery will be Pache’s second this season, as he missed six weeks after undergoing knee surgery at the beginning of May. In spite of those injury woes, Pache’s enjoyed the best offensive season of his career as a part-time player in Philadelphia, slashing an excellent .327/.365/.592 in 53 plate appearances while playing excellent center field defense.
With Pache now headed to the shelf for an extended period of time, Rookie outfielder Johan Rojas figures to get an extended opportunity in Pache’s previous role as a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh. The club’s outfield picture is about to get more flexible as well, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki relays that Bryce Harper is set to make his season debut in the field at first base during the club’s upcoming series in Milwaukee. With Harper set to spend time at first going forward, that will open up the DH for Schwarber more often, allowing the club to play both Marsh and Rojas alongside right fielder Nick Castellanos or open up space for an outfield acquisiton at the trade deadline.
Harper’s recovery from Tommy John surgery has been unprecedented in its speed, and it appears his return to the field will be no exception. In addition to beginning to field at first base later this week, Coffey adds that the Phillies haven’t completely ruled out a return to right field before the end of the season, with manager Rob Thomson quoted as saying the possibility is “on the edge of the table.” Such a move would seemingly be contingent on not only Harper’s health but also the moves the club makes prior to the trade deadline on August 1.
The Phillies have long been interested in adding a right-handed outfielder to the club’s current mix, and such an acquisition could create a logjam in the outfield between Castellanos, Schwarber, Marsh, Rojas, Pache, and the acquisition that would only be further exacerbated by Harper’s return to the grass.
Huge bummer as Pache found his bat this year. Rojas looked good in his debut games yesterday. Him and Marsh will have to hold the fort.
It was quite the great catch Rojas made in the first game to setup the double play. It was also great seeing Marsh in left so some defense was being played.
The bad part was Sosa at 3rd. How anyone could have decided that error was actually double is absurd.
“Huge bummer as Pache found his bat this year”…
So has Moniak… It’s amazing what the right coaching and patience can achieve.
Moniak actually found it in Spring Training last year but he broke his wrist. K-Long is an amazing coach.
I’m still shocked Oakland dfa’d Pache after one season. As bad as they are, they couldn’t find a single roster spot for this guy? Even if he’s on the Phillies, I’m still pulling for him to figure it out and be successful.
Yeah. That was odd in my mind. Even if Pache overperformed in his brief Phillies stretch, I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t be a starter on the As.
Until Pache connected with Long, he couldn’t hit major league pitching. It’s possible but doubtful that Pache would have ever hit in Oakland.
“ It’s almost like the A’s entire ownership and front office are scammers who don’t care at all about anything other than profit margins.”
Yea almost all teams only care about profit margin. The Braves are a publicly traded company. Public trading companies only care about profit margin and shareholder value. Having a good team just means more butts in the seats and more money spent at the ballpark. The A’s are just on one side of the extreme of being cheap while the Mets are on the other side of the extreme. The Mets maybe the only team that doesn’t care much about profit margin. Cohen is more like a European soccer team owner. It’s more of a hobby than an investment for him.
StephCurryRetiresWith8Rings4 hours ago
It’s almost like the A’s entire ownership and front office are scammers who don’t care at all about anything other than profit margins
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Still worth mentioning that the As have more playoff appearances since 2005, than about 80% of baseball..
I was hoping the RS could sign him to a minor league deal for whatever the minimum MLB salary was. He certainly wasn’t good with the A’s, and still isn’t, but the needed improvements in hitting didn’t seem impossible. With his fielding, a .700 OPS would make him a good player.
Except he’s been awesome so your statement doesn’t hold water.
Ahhh pache
…ahhh Bach…
I always thought this guy might have a screw loose somewhere. Turns out I was right for once.
I had a plate and some screws in my wrist after a bone graft, and it was never quite right. After they took them out, I could tell an immediate difference. Here’s hoping Pache enjoys the same recovery.
How the screw got in there to begin with—
The right elbow irritation which landed Pache on the 10-day injured list is related to an old surgery during which he had a screw inserted into his arm, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. The surgery actually happened back before Pache began his pro career back in 2016.
Excellent addition to the story. I was wondering whether he hurt himself hanging pictures or something.
Screws fall out all the time, the world’s an imperfect place
The guy traded to As for Pache has walked 27 in 23ings at AAA(Sullivan). DD with the win
Sure, the Phillies will be happy to help the Cardinals clear a roster spot just like they did for the A’s with Pache.
Or maybe Renfroe from the Angels.
Why not, they will just ‘develop’ them and then ship them back to Atlanta for a few prospects
@StephCurry, when you go to buy a used car do you simply kick the tires & say “I’ll take it”?
Of course not, you take it to a mechanic.
Same goes for a ball player, you check him inside & out.
The A’s were aware of what they were getting. Shame on them for not doing their homework or simply being negligent.
@StephCurry, your post is so lacking of baseball acumen, it’s not worthy of a response.
Mom says the chicken fingers are here, time for din din stevie.
The A’s most likely knew about the screw. Don’t blame the Braves for the A’s mistakes.
And then you woke up.
Go home steve, take your meds & then take a nap. Tomorrow will be all rainbows & Walt Disney.
Those meany old Braves are just a hallucination.
It’s kind of borderline insane to think the A’s weren’t aware of past medical issues. Someone could always have some minor pain that explodes later, but I’d bet real money the A’s had all relevant information.