Marsh out of lineup; Dahl back at AAA; painful start to Merrifield’s Braves stint originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Monday in Minnesota was the first of many upcoming games for the Phillies against a right-handed starting pitcher but Brandon Marsh was absent from the lineup.
Marsh is dealing with a sore right elbow, manager Rob Thomson told reporters, but is expected to play on Tuesday.
The Phillies started Weston Wilson in left field against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Minnesota hasn’t named its starter for Wednesday, but if it’s a righty, the Phillies are set to face one in eight consecutive games before likely facing Yankees southpaw Nestor Cortes next Wednesday at home.
That should mean starts every day for Marsh, if the elbow is healthy enough. The Phillies are currently platooning Marsh with Wilson in left field and Johan Rojas with Cristian Pache in center. Pache is facing lefties and Rojas righties. Thomson has also started Edmundo Sosa at second base over the slumping Bryson Stott three games in a row when facing a left-handed starter.
Marsh is having a strong season against right-handers, hitting .290/.373/.500 with 20 of his 21 extra-base hits. He’s gone just 7-for-49 (.143) vs. lefties with 25 strikeouts.
Wilson has started three games as Marsh’s platoon partner since being recalled from Triple A just before the All-Star break and he’s come through each time, going 1-for-3 with a walk and run scored against the A’s, 3-for-5 with a homer Friday in Pittsburgh and 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly on Sunday.
Still, this is a spot — right-handed-hitting outfielder — the Phillies could upgrade ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
Dahl re-signs
The Phils re-signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor-league deal. He will report to Triple A Lehigh Valley.
Dahl was designated for assignment July 8 and elected free agency two days later. He didn’t find a big-league job and chose to return to an organization that he’s already seen could need a lefty-hitting outfielder should an injury arise.
Dahl homered in his Phillies debut and again the following week in London but went into a slump thereafter, going 8-for-52 with 20 strikeouts. He’s shown four years in a row that he can crush Triple A pitching and returns to the IronPigs with a .340 batting average and 1.076 OPS.
Merrifield signs with Braves, gets hurt
The Braves signed Whit Merrifield to a major-league deal on Monday as Ozzie Albies was placed on the injured list with a fractured wrist that is expected to sideline him until potentially the final week of the regular season.
Injuries have plagued the Braves all year — Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy, Max Fried, Albies — and Merrifield quickly joined the club on Monday afternoon. He took a groundball off a finger on his throwing hand during batting practice and is being listed as day-to-day.
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