Stott gets called up to cover for Gregorius
Saturday’s game against Mets is series’s second consecutive washout
Bryson Stott’s wait for a return to the big leagues didn’t take long.
The Phillies shortstop was recalled from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Saturday with Didi Gregorius placed on the 10-day injured list with a knee issue.
Gregorius strained his MCL on a collision in shallow left field with Kyle Schwarber in the seventh inning Wednesday night against Texas. He finished the game but reported stiffness the next day, which precipitated an MRI.
The move is retroactive to Thursday. Manager Joe Girardi is hopeful it’s a short-term stint on the shelf.
“He finished the game and we waited until he came in the next day to see how he presented,” Girardi said Saturday, before the Phillies’ afternoon game with the Mets was rained out. “It was just stiff, so we ended up getting an MRI which showed a slight strain. We thought it was best to IL him.”
Gregorius had two IL spells last year, missing six weeks with a right elbow impingement. He already missed a week in April after being hit in the hand with a pitch. After playing all 60 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he was limited to 103 games last year.
That gives Stott a chance to establish himself in the bigs. The top prospect made the team out of spring, but as he struggled in the majors, his playing time diminished. In nine games, he went 4-for-30 with 10 strikeouts. In the interest of having him play regularly, he was sent to Lehigh Valley April 25.
He’s regained his stroke there, batting 12-for-36 with two homers and a .986 OPS in nine games.
“Kind of just staying ready was the big thing,” Stott said. “The first day it was kind of still weird that I got sent down, and we got rained out so that kind of helped, and just getting back into the groove.”
The plan for the next stretch is to have Stott start regularly at short. That allows Johan Camargo to fill in at all four infield positions.
Stott was so eager to get back into games that he jumped into the lineup at Lehigh Valley as soon as he could, around a rainout on his first day back, which brought a wry smile.
“I was joking that I sat enough games so I don’t need to take my three days,” he said. “I wanted to play.”
His focus was on not chasing pitches out of his zone and letting the game come to him. The confidence of being in the lineup every day helped.
“It’s just swinging at the right pitches,” Stott said, “and kind of just staying within myself and taking my walks when they’re presented to me and trying to not do too much, in a sense.”
Another washout: For the second straight day, the Phils were rained out against the Mets. They will, nor’easter permitting, play a single-admission doubleheader at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. (Doubleheader games are back to nine innings this year.)
If you’re keeping score at home, that makes this week’s ledger: Loss in New York, off day, loss to Texas, loss to Texas, historic loss after leading by six runs in the ninth, then two rainouts.
And the effect of it all is …
“It’s hard to say, because a lot of times, you’ll get four at the All-Star Break and you come out playing great,” Girardi said. “It gives our guys a chance to rest, and then we get back in it.”
The Phillies face nine games in eight days, the double dip preceding a flight to Seattle for a late Monday game. They follow three in Seattle with four in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Their next off day is May 16, which is followed by 16-game stretch against daunting goes — San Diego, the Dodgers, at Atlanta, at the Mets, San Francisco.
From the notebook: Kyle Gibson (2-1, 2.93 ERA), originally slated to pitch Friday, will be on the bump Sunday. Max Scherzer (4-0, 2.61) is also due to go. Girardi plans to use Gibson and Zach Eflin (1-2, 4.50), though he acknowledged, “We have some people that are under the weather right now,” with Eflin in that group. Chris Bassitt (3-2, 3.61) will also start for the Mets. … Camargo was penciled in at first base Saturday. He’s only played two career MLB games there. He got 59 games at the position
with Braves’ Triple-A side Gwinnett in 2021. “He understands the position,” Girardi said. “And obviously when you don’t play there every day, you don’t necessarily get every play that you would be if you play every day, but I’m going to move him around, because he’s capable and he’s played all the positions.” … Camargo was spelling Rhys Hoskins, who would’ve dodged Scherzer. He’s 1-for-26 career against the Cy Young Award winner. Hoskins is 4-for-35 over his last nine games. … Nick Castellanos was in the lineup after exiting Thursday being hit by a pitch. Girardi said Castellanos told him he would’ve been good to play Friday. He has a bruised wrist, with X-rays coming back negative.