Broken toe will cost Schierholtz important audition time
That Nate Schierholtz suffered a broken toe Sunday does not have any immediate bearing on the fourth-place Phillies. They will have to shuffle an already-thin infield for the season's remaining six weeks. It just means playing time for others.
Broken toe will cost Schierholtz important audition time
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MIAMI — That Nate Schierholtz suffered a broken toe Sunday does not have any immediate bearing on the fourth-place Phillies. They will have to shuffle an already-thin infield for the season's remaining six weeks. It just means playing time for others.
However, it certainly hurts Schierholtz's chance for an everyday job in 2013.
Chances are the Phillies did not see anything in his 37 plate appearances that guaranteed him a spot or precluded him from one. They were eager for a two-month look at Schierholtz, who wanted an escape from San Francisco, where he believed he was cast forever as a part-time player.
Instead, it's possible only 11 games are what the Phillies will see before heading into the winter with myriad outfield decisions to make.
Schierholtz was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday as Hector Luna was recalled from triple A. The injury, depending on its severity, could end his season. If it requires surgery, it obviously will keep him from playing again in 2012. Ryan Madson broke his right big toe in 2010 and needed surgery that kept him sidelined for 70 days.
It's unclear whether Schierholtz needs surgery.
Other instances of the injury could have him back anywhere from 15 days to six weeks. Erick Aybar suffered a hairline fracture of his big toe earlier in 2012 and the Los Angeles infielder missed 15 days. Tampa Bay infielder Jeff Keppinger missed 34 days with a broken toe earlier in the season. And Cardinals reliever Edward Mujica missed 18 days with a fractured toe.
The Phillies, already faced with a dearth of outfield options, must reshuffle again. It's possible Domonic Brown shifts from left to right on a regular basis with Juan Pierre and Laynce Nix splitting time in left. The injury also effectively leaves Michael Martinez as the lone backup centerfielder to John Mayberry Jr.
The only other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Tyson Gillies, who is hitting .293 with an .812 OPS for double-A Reading. He, of course, has played in only 47 games because of injuries and suspensions. But the Phillies could opt to take a look at him in September when rosters expand.
Another possibility is 26-year-old Darin Ruf, who is mashing Eastern League pitching for Reading. Ruf has hit 25 home runs, which ranks ninth among all minor-league players in 2012. But he has played only 14 games in the oufield this season, and it is his first try at learning the position.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
@advantasux: somewhere, Chuck Lamar is having a real good laugh.
— dasher- @advantasux: 'Ruin Tomorrow Jr'...that's classic man, just awesome.— drbob1
- bring ruf and gilles up now whats the difference? lance nix really lets see what we have— stayoutofphilly
- The decision who to bring up from the minors depends a lot on available options left on a player or if they want to exercise the option on a top prospect now or wait until the future. With the season already lost, it might be best to leave some of the top prospects play out the minor league schedule and bring them up in September or wait until Spring Training to take a look at them.— sonnybuoy01
- Nice try, but on these boards you will get overrun by posters who are hot to bring up Ruf, a guy from Double A who needs at least a season at Triple A and are hot for Tyler Cloyd, when there is little indication that any other team is anxious to deal for him, although he might have more value with teams wondering whether he can pitch in the show than finding out that he is, at best, another Kendrick. There are also issues of super-two status in the CBA as many teams, including the Phillies, delay bringing up prospects because of the arbitration timetable down the road. As you note, there are also option issues. Earlier in the season many posters wanted Elarton and Diekman brought up but that call has dissipated, particularly when Diekman pitched so poorly after getting the call. I do believe that Worley should get his operation over with sooner rather than later, and I do believe they will call up Cloyd at some point, but not Ruf and probably not Pettibone. Perhaps they will also call up Jason Pridie who swung the bat pretty well in his short stint. — chuckw
- amaro must go what this says is we dont have enough major league players in the entire to field a team ruben has gotten his pocket picked in nearly every deal he has done.— stayoutofphilly
- Stop the Madness and BRING UP RUF!
- The only guy at Lehigh that they can call up that would make a difference in 2013 is Ryan Sandberg.
advantasux - You had me until Brandon Moss. Not defending RAJ, but calling for Moss is calling for yet another 25th man and 5th OF. Earlier this season, fans were calling for Scott Elarton too but you left him out. Cloyd is a nice story and I agree that he deserves a shot but he is a 5th starter at best. For various reasons, two of our three aces have not met expectations. Last year, the Phils were 46-18 in games started by Lee and Halladay. This season, that record is 15-21. THAT is Reason # 1 why they went from first to last. If those two are closer to their 2011 version than the 2012 version, the Phils are back in contention and we can talk about real problems with the team and not some Luna-cy about Tyler Cloyd, Lenny Kravitz vs. whoever should be taking up the 24th and 25th roster spots.
— NMPartners - There is nobody at Lehigh Valley named RYAN Sandberg. There is RYNE Sandberg.
Plus, if he's so good, why haven't any other teams considered a Hall of Fame player to be their manager?— sonnybuoy01 - You have to laugh about this now. Come to the Phillies if you want a rest, because you'll surely end up on the DL.— fischman
- How can you criticize SMUG and DOPEY remember they have given up Dominic Brown. He will bring hundreds to the Park, ugh! And JM Jr. If his father was one of the "good old boys" and a fine player, would he be were he is now? With the exception of a very few, the owners need to use the delete button from top to bottom if the Phillies are to continue drawing the crowds to the Park. No crowds, no revenue.— phillytransplant
- @drbob1, not sure if you were being complimentary or sarcastic but the credit (or blame) for the moniker "Ruin Tomorrow, Jr." goes to the esteemed @dasher, the resident funny man on this board and these pages.
@dasher, take your bow, my friend.
Also, @dash, if you're looking in, love your word play today on the "lunacy" of again adding Hector Luna. Also, could not agree more that Chuck LaMar is having a good laugh somewhere today. Mike Arbuckle as well. Two more baseball pros whom had to leave this organization to make room enough for Amaro and his massive ego.— advantasux - recommend all read crashburnalley on espn for honest assessment of Phils so-called "prospects" (all trash since CLueless Rube discarded any valuable ones in pursuit of trash)— warbiscuit
- stop the madness - fire the imbecile currently called g.m.— warbiscuit
- he probably broke his toe on purpose so he doesn't have to play for Manuel. The 3 Stooges Amaro, Manuel and Dubee.— gates2012
