11:21am: Dombrowski tells reporters that Marsh’s injury occurred during a workout a few days ago (X link via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). The debridement procedure that was performed was tied to “floating cartilage” in Marsh’s knee.
10:21am: The Phillies announced Friday that outfielder Brandon Marsh underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee this morning. He’s expected to return to game activity in three to four weeks, per the team, and the Phillies anticipate that he’ll still be ready for Opening Day.
Marsh, 26, was acquired from the Angels at the 2022 deadline in a trade sending catcher Logan O’Hoppe to the Halos. It was a somewhat rare one-for-one swap of two well-regarded young players whose positional fit was stronger with another club than the one that drafted him. Marsh hit the ground running in Philly and has seized a regular spot in the outfield, batting .280/.360/.457 in 610 plate appearances since that swap.
While he’s played plenty of center field for the Phillies, Marsh will likely slide over to left field in 2024 in deference to defensive standout Johan Rojas, whom president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this week is “likely” to be his Opening Day center fielder. Marsh has been a capable enough defender in center, but he graded out as a plus in the corners last year. More than that, however, Rojas posted otherworldly defensive marks in just 392 innings of center field work: 15 Defensive Runs Saved and 6 Outs Above Average.
The Phillies were already known to be poking around the market for another bench bat, and it’s fair to wonder whether this injury news regarding Marsh might push them a bit harder to find a right-handed-hitting outfielder. Marsh is a career .223/.278/.312 hitter against southpaws anyhow, and while there’s no indication that this is expected to be a long-term issue, it’s also not uncommon to see a relatively minor surgery bring about some lingering issues.
Right now, Cristian Pache is the Phillies’ fourth outfielder — though utility infielder Edmundo Sosa has also seen some time in the outfield as well. Both are right-handed, but both are also defensive-minded players. If Marsh experiences any kind of setback, the Phillies could turn to a platoon arrangement with Pache and fellow reserve Jake Cave in left field, or the club could take a look at a non-roster depth option like Cal Stevenson. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see at least another non-roster invitee brought into camp to join that mix, and Dombrowski acknowledged earlier this week that the club “might” end up signing another bat for the Major League bench, so a more notable addition than another NRI shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.
Sounds like he should be back by Opening Day.
You just hope he gets as close to a normal amount of ST reps as possible.
Probably best not to rush him if he’s not 100%. Let him have an additional week of rehab games in the minors. It’s a long season.
Boras making phone calls!
That’s harsh for Marsh
Take up a collection. Call it the Marsh of Dimes.
Injury bug bites hard and early.
I bet we see a lot of these types of stories as the guys start reporting in to spring training. Lingering issues that rest was supposed to fix, but didn’t. Some injuries that pop up as they start ramping up from playing golf and lying on beaches the last few months.
Cody Bellinger now?
It’s 3-4 weeks for a guy that often platooned. I don’t think they need to go out and get Bellinger.
YES
Belli Bombs at the Bank
Wishing him a speedy recovery. Looking forward to seeing him continue to progress this year.
Hope he feels better.
Jake &^%$ Cave……
Time to sign Randy. Maybe even Stan?
Or possibly Awn Lynch?
All Mathers would sign today… if this was the Tigers.
Kenneth Keniff. Infield corner man from Connecticut
Ooof. Heal up Mr Marsh
this is what don’t make sense did he just injure himself somehow some way within the last week? if this has been something that’s bothered him since last year why is he wait until now to get that surgery? if it’s only a minimum surgery and he’ll be back at 3 to 4 weeks done a week or two after the season ended and be fine by now I don’t understand why they push this type of stuff off until right before the season starts
It’s obvious. Why be laid up with surgery and pain while you are on your vacation time off. Get it during prepping for the season (Spring Training) or during the season. That way you get paid for recuperating, and have more time off.
At the beginning of the article, it says the injury occurred during a workout a few days ago.
That was added to the beginning of the article after I posted my comment. I posted my comment at 12:10pm EST. That was added to the article at 11:21am “CST”.. AKA 12:21pm EST. “February 9th, 2024 at 11:21am CST • By Steve Adams
11:21am: Dombrowski tells reporters that Marsh’s injury occurred during a workout a few days ago (X link via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). The debridement procedure that was performed was tied to “floating cartilage” in Marsh’s knee.”
But thanks for pointing out the article was updated since I posted my comment.
Another article by Steven Adams that reflects his complete lack of knowledge of the Phillies. Edmundo Sosa played ZERO innings in the OF last season. In fact, they tried him in CF last season and he couldn’t do it.
Steven Adams is a joke of a writer — get someone else to write about this team.
*Tried him in CF last spring training.
He played three games and five innings in the outfield: three innings in left and two in center.
Also, I’m a “Stephen” with a ph, not a v, for future insult purposes.
Thanks for reading!
So, virtually zero. If you had done any research, you would have read they tried him in the OF last spring training and he failed. Dave Dombrowski has referred to him as a spare OF a grand total of zero times. Their reserve OFs are Pache and Cave, with Weston Wilson after that.
And you’re still a terrible writer, regardless of how your name is spelled.
I really hope Sosa gets some time in OF during spring training now
I beg to differ. I find Mr. Adams’ articles are usually insightful and well written. His hard work despite the blessings of a growing family is readily apparent. I am one Phillies fan who looks forward to his contributions.
Like many of the writers on this site, he capably regurgitates BRef and Fangraphs stats without actually knowing anything about a player or a team. That’s why he cites Sosa as a potential OFer for the Phillies because he “played there” (5 innings) last season, when everyone knows Sosa is not on the OF depth chart. The next guy after Cave and Pache is Weston Wilson, who he does not mention because he is listed as an IF, but does Cal Stevenson, since he is the only OF listed on Lehigh Valley’s OF depth chart ATM.
ATTB
“Edmundo Sosa played ZERO innings in the OF last season.”
“He played three games and five innings in the outfield”
“So, virtually zero”
LOL. Maybe be less of a jerk
CB
And during the season as well
CD
To each their own
I don’t find many of the articles here very insightful. Of course, what’s “insightful” is very subjective. I usually read the first paragraph or two to see what’s happening and skip the test.
The baseball and financial analysis is lacking. FanGraphs does it much better. I can do it better as well.
But that analysts takes some time. MLBTR gets their articles up quickly – which I like, especially since I dumped Elon Musk’s version of Twitter. There’s always pros and cons. MLBTR sacrifices depth for timiliness. FanGraphs goes the other direction. That’s why I read both.
I’m not so sure a writer’s life is so easy. I live in Africa and ride my motorcycle. Many stories pop up during my daytime, meaning 1-5 am in the US time zones.
I stop to rest near a tower, read and give my two cents. Some complain or get personal about my grammar, spelling or my opinions as if I’m supposed to care. Just imagine what the writers have to do and go through.
You blasted the author for rounding out a number, and yet you rounded the number of innings Sosa played in the OF last season, too. You even capitalized your “zero”, then you corrected yourself to say “virtually zero”. Lol!
I’m just saying…
what a tool. Adams is a great contributor to the best free baseball site out there
You literally just said, “Sosa played zero innings in the OF last season. In fact, they tried him in CF.” You contradicted yourself so maybe lay off a little on the criticism.
It didn’t say if the injury just happened or if it was nagging him. It happens a lot that guys wait till the last minute to get nagging injuries taken care of. If that’s the case it doesn’t make sense to wait this long.
Check the first paragraph. It happened during a workout a few days ago.
Let’s get real. Bellinger is their Opening Day CF.
Hard pass on Cody Bellinger
Weston Wilson. Give him a shot.
Agreed!
Wilson is an IF.
And what caused this need for surgery this late in the off-season? A trip on the steps at the Wells Fargo Center catching a Flyers game?
O’Hoppe > Marsh. Plus, Marsh needs a barber, bad.
I agree Red, it was a win/win trade thou. You don’t have to always get the little better player, or ceiling guy to win a trade. Hints, both teams improve from it, from a position of need.
This is it exactly. O’Hoppe was completely blocked in Philly, and the Phillies didn’t have a CF. Marsh has been better than expected and carried that success into the playoffs. O’Hoppe still would be a bench player in Philly, simply because of JT Realmuto. Yes. O’Hoppe has a high ceiling, but Marsh is young too. It was a true win/win.
Pnp
“You don’t have to always get the little better player, or ceiling guy to win a trade. Hints, both teams improve from it, from a position of need.”
Sort of. But not really
First, we should ditch the idea of “winning” trades.
Of course, teams want to acquire the best players possible while giving up the least talent. This is true on both sides. Both teams are evaluating the players in the deal and putting values (e-valu-ating) on them.
For a deal to be agreed to, both teams must feel that they improved their team – that they “won”.
When we, as outsiders, evaluate a trade, we should always keep that in mind. What was each team trying to do and how well did they accomplish that.
In this trade, both treams traded from a position of perceived strength for a position of weakness. And, it appears that both teams upgraded those positions of weakness. So, yes, win-win.
But, there’s a second level. Players have an intrensic value. Take the Red Sox trading Smoltz for Alexander. The Red Sox were looking for present performance and the Braves for future performance. They both got that. So, win-win?
I’d bet one of those teams would very much like a do-over. Smoltz’ intrinsic value turned out to be much higher than Alexander’s. Same with a million other trades – Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields comes to mind.
Trades are complicated to evaluate. They can, and should be, looked at through different lenses.
@Redstitch108* 2
Trade him to the Yankees so he can get that appointment with the barber.
What a mid team. Harper at first completely limits his value, Alec Bohm and Castellanos both overrated and slightly above replacement players. Relying on a guy who’s proven nothing in CF.
he’s proven to be an exceptional defender in CF
Does anyone else feel like the Phillies’ depth is pretty thin across the board? I’ve been keeping a big spreadsheet of rosters all winter and they’re one of a few teams where it seems like if two or three of the guys in the lineup go down there’s no fallback plan at all.
brandn marsh, more like brandon darsh
Why do the Phillies have to find an OF from the market and why must he be a RH hitter? Why not from within? AAA Simon Muzziotti is a LH hitter and plays all three OF positions. He broke out with better competition. If they must have a RH hitter. Go straight to AA. Johan Rojas skipped AAA so, take a look at AA OF Carlos De La Cruz. He’s a RH corner OF / 1B. He’s a bit SO prone but can offer some versatility.
GarryHarris, did you miss the news two days ago? nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillie…
Yep, I missed it. Too bad.
Oakland As
Awful analysis. Weston Wilson saw more time in the outfield than Sosa last yr. Rojas is starting in AAA
“Rojas is starting in AAA”. Swing and a miss.
How convenient. Just before spring training begins. Winter vacation extended, with pay.
What about Muz, oh never mind.
The Phillies outfield defense has gone from very below average to a strength over the past year or so. Their defense as a whole has improved quite a bit from a couple of years ago. Harper looks to be taking to 1B pretty well, and Bohm has improved at least to the point of being passable. If Turner can have a solid season with the glove, their defense as a whole could be pretty decent.
Nicholas Castellanos is still a poor defender.