Phillies place Trea Turner, Alec Bohm on injured list ahead of final postseason push
After losing ace Zack Wheeler to venous thoracic outlet syndrome, the Philadelphia Phillies' path to a World Series just got tougher.
With 19 games left in the regular season, the Phillies on Monday placed shortstop Trea Turner and third baseman Alec Bohm on the 10-day injured list.
Turner lands on the IL with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, and Bohm with a sore shoulder.
"He had the MRI. It's a Grade 1. We expect him to be back by playoff time," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "It was actually better than what we expected. With Bohmer, he's been grinding with this left shoulder for a while now. Fighting through it, probably been a week, 10 days. He could feel it every once in a while on a swing, and yesterday, he felt it on every swing, so we decided to shut this down. We expect him back in 10 days."
In corresponding moves, the Phillies recalled Otto Kemp from Triple-A and selected Donovan Walton's contract. To make room for Walton on the 40-man roster, the Phillies will transfer pitcher Daniel Robert to the 60-day IL.
Turner removed himself from Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Marlins after reaching base on an error in the seventh inning.
"It was just kind of grabbing on me," Turner told reporters in Miami. "It didn't feel good. I felt if I could have kept going, I would have."
Turner, 32, missed six weeks early last season after he suffered a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring.
After Sunday's game, Turner said he hopes his injury is "not as bad as that."
"Try to get back as fast as you can and get ready for that last little stretch and hopefully the postseason push," Turner said. "It's never a good time, but having something like this late is not fun. When these games obviously really matter, you need to be out there. More frustrating than anything is coming down the stretch, big games and not being able to be out there. Hopefully, it's not too many."
Turner missed 11 days with a right hamstring strain in 2017 when he was with the Washington Nationals. Last season, Bryce Harper missed 10 days with a hamstring injury, and Brandon Marsh was out for 12 days in 2024 with one.
The Phillies open up a four-game series with the Mets on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park after they were swept by their NL East rivals in New York two weeks ago. Philadelphia opens the series with a seven-game lead over New York in the division race, though New York owns the tiebreaker. The Phils currently have a four-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL, which comes with a first-round bye. Game 1 of the NLDS is 26 days away.
Turner lands on the IL, leading the National League with a .305 average and in hits with 179, including one five-hit game, six four-hit games and 13 three-hit games, and putting together a strong case for the league's MVP. Turner is having his strongest season as a Phillie and the best one by a shortstop since Jimmy Rollins' 2007 MVP year.
In 140 games, Turner is hitting .305/.356/.458 with an .815 OPS, 15 homers, 31 doubles, seven triples, 36 stolen bases and 94 runs scored. He has also drastically improved his defense at shortstop and has a 5.4 bWAR, the second highest of his career.
"It's tough. Anytime you lose one of your premier players, obviously, it's hard," Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. "Guys have to step up and keep playing the same ball we're playing and continue to play our game. Obviously, it's a tough situation we're in, but we have to keep going."
Sosa is expected to take over as the Phillies' shortstop while Turner is out. Sosa replaced Turner as a baserunner and stayed in at SS on Sunday.
Bohm hits the injured list for the second time this season. He missed a month earlier this season with a fractured rib. He was hitting .243/.296/.351 with a .648 OPS in 19 games since coming back.
With Turner and Bohm out, Thomson is changing up his lineup. Harper will lead off with Kyle Schwarber behind him against Mets rookie Nolan McLean. J.T. Realmuto will bat third with Max Kepler batting cleanup.
Here's the lineup:
- Bryce Harper, 1B
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- J.T. Realmuto, C
- Max Kepler, LF
- Harrison Bader, CF
- Nick Castellanos, RF
- Bryson Stott, 2B
- Edmundo Sosa, SS
- Otto Kemp, 3B
Kemp is hitting .228/.298/.359 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 46 games with the Phillies this season.
Walton was acquired by the Phillies from the Mets for cash on July 1. Walton is hitting .339/.413/.424 in 50 games with the IronPigs. He's played 50 career games in the majors, with a .174 average and .532 OPS. He played in nine games with the San Francisco Giants last season. He can play shortstop, second base, third base and left field.