With Trea Turner now on the injured list due to a hamstring injury, the Philadelphia Phillies still have several middle infield options at their disposal. Turner suffered the hamstring injury while running the bases during a game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. To fill the open spot on the 26-man roster, the Phillies called up Kody Clemens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Turner is currently expected to miss at least six weeks due to this injury. Clemens will likely see some time at second base with Edmundo Sosa and Whit Merrifield also seeing increased playing time. There has also been some speculation that Bryson Stott will see playing time at shortstop during this stretch.
What happens in Turner’s absence could have future implications for when he returns. There has been some discussion in the past about moving Turner to second base while Stott plays shortstop. This is because Turner has committed 27 errors in 185 regular season games at shortstop for the Phillies. He has a .970 fielding percentage and a -4 rDRS at shortstop compared to a .980 fielding percentage and a 7 rDRS at second base. Meanwhile, Stott has a .975 fielding percentage and a -5 rDRS at shortstop as well as a .993 fielding percentage and a 7 rDRS at second base. If Stott plays well at shortstop, Phillies manager Rob Thomson should make the switch when Turner returns.
Phillies Middle Infield Options
Option 1: Stott (Second Base) & Sosa (Shortstop)
This will be the primary middle infield the Phillies will use during the absence of Turner. After all, Sosa is the one who replaced Turner at shortstop during Friday’s game. Sosa is also the best defender of the possible options. At shortstop, he has a .967 fielding percentage and a 13 rDRS. While it is possible the Phillies may use a middle infield alignment where Sosa plays second base and Stott plays shortstop, that does not seem like the route Thomson will go. This scenario keeps Stott at second base while Sosa, one of the best defenders on the team, fills in for the injured Turner at shortstop. Stability with the defensive alignment helps make this the primary option.
Edmundo Sosa will have the first crack at most of the shortstop time, Rob Thomson said, but they will have Bryson Stott slide over at times with Whit Merrifield at second base. Bigger issue might be finding right fit for No. 2 in lineup. It’ll be Realmuto for now.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) May 4, 2024
Option 2: Merrifield (Second Base) & Stott (Shortstop)
This is the second most likely option the Phillies will go with. If Stott plays shortstop for the majority of the games Turner misses, Merrifield will be playing second base for the most part. Merrifield has a .984 fielding percentage and a 6 rDRS at second base. While it may not be the most likely outcome for the primary middle infield alignment, it would not be surprising to see it used at some point while Turner is on the injured list. During his major league career, Merrifield has played seven different defensive positions but shortstop is not one of them. He has made 684 career starts at the other infield positions.
Option 3: Clemens (Second Base) & Stott (Shortstop)
This is the least likely middle infield combo with Turner out, although it may be used occasionally. If the Phillies decide to have Stott play shortstop, it is not unreasonable to believe they may platoon Clemens and Merrifield. Clemens has a 1.000 fielding percentage and a 0 rDRS at second base. It is worth noting that Clemens has played nine games and has made seven starts at second base during his major league career. That is the least amount of games played and starts at second base in the majors between the three middle infield candidates, so Clemens will probably be sparsely used. He has also played one game at shortstop during his major league career.
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