Wrist bruise sends Realmuto to IL
The Phillies and All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto only needed a few swings of the bat Friday to decide he was at least another week from returning from a deep bone bruise on his left wrist.
Realmuto was placed on the 10-day Injured List, retroactive to Tuesday. He’s eligible to play next Friday, when the Phillies are idle, so he’s effectively shelved until the following day, May 29, when the Phillies have a day game at Tampa Bay.
Thirty-six-year-old journeyman outfielder Matt Joyce was recalled from Lehigh Valley to take Realmuto’s spot on the roster.
The only real question is whether the one-week respite works in the rehab of Realmuto, still dealing with significant swelling.
“I sure hope so,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I mean, we thought he was going to be out today. He swung off the tee and it just doesn’t feel right. So, we shut him
down and said we’re going to back off for a few days and just continue to treat, and we’ll go from there.”
Realmuto missed his fifth straight game Friday and will miss at least seven more. The Phillies are 1-5 in the missed games, having been outscored 37-20.
Like a lot of clubs, the Phillies’ IL list is lengthening. Already on it are Didi Gregorius, Roman Quinn and Scott Kingery. The club thought about shelving Realmuto on Monday but decided against it.
“In J.T.’s case he was doing fine, he got sick,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said. “Comes back Saturday and feels it. On Sunday, the doctor wanted to do a full workup on Monday. They find nothing structurally wrong so they treated it and they said really, he should be OK to go about Thursday or Friday. It’s not getting better so finally you have to make a decision. But if somebody would have told me three days ago to put him on the list, I would have done it. Unfortunately, it’s been a lot of these day-to-day type of things. It’s just one of those streaks and situations.”
The Phillies have been fortunate to be able to plug in catcher Andrew Knapp. Rafael Marchan is Knapp’s backup. • • •
Spectators can watch Phillies games at Citizens Bank Park without face masks in the outdoor seating areas now.
The change, which was effective Friday, applies to the seating bowls and other outdoor spaces, but not the indoor areas including among others, the Diamond Club, retail stores, elevators and restrooms.
Fans are required to wear masks in the indoor areas, and the Phillies are “encouraging” fans that aren’t fully vaccinated to keep donning masks at all times, as per city and state guidelines.
The Phillies’ capacity now is 16,000 fans to satisfy the city’s three-feet social distancing requirement.
Full capacity, which translates to 43,035 fans, begins June 12. Tailgating in the lots around the stadium also will be permitted that day.
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The Phillies have another move coming up this weekend against the Red Sox as they will start pitcher Spencer Howard (0-0, 8.31 ERA), who’s coming off a solid outing for Lehigh Valley, against Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.50).
The plan is for Howard to throw 55 to 60 pitches per start in the coming weeks. Chase Anderson, who was slated to start, will be used in relief.
Dombrowski smiled when asked about preserving or saving Howard’s innings for later in the season.
“You’re talking about how you want to save him, right?” Dombrowski said. “Well, what are you saving him for? I mean, what happens if you’re not there in September. I’ll deal with September when we get to September.
“Let’s make the innings important, the games important and then we can deal with the circumstances at that time. Hopefully we’re having that type of conversation.”