Phillies drop series finale to Nationals
On Father’s Day, the Philadelphia Phillies lost the fifth and final game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, disappointing dads across the Delaware Valley. However, Philadelphia won the previous four games against the Nats, thus winning their fifth consecutive series. Rob Thomson’s Phils continue to be hot in the month of June, with a record of 15-3. —Lauren Amour, Inside the Phillies
Pitching performances:
PHI Zach Eflin: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 K
WSH Jackson Tetreault: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Standout bats:
PHI Matt Vierling: 2-for-4
PHI Bryson Stott: 1-for-4, RBI, K
WSH Juan Soto: 1-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, K
WSH Maikel Franco: 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
MORE: Zach Eflin exits Sunday start early —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
Phillies to activate Camargo
The Phillies announced that infielder Johan Camargo will be reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday's game.
The utilityman spent fourteen days out of action, which stemmed from a knee sprain he suffered while rounding first base in the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels on June 5.
Camargo's rehab stint was short, but not so sweet. The infielder played three games with the Iron Pigs, and hit .167 alongside a .500 OPS. Still, he'll provide a much-needed boost to the Phillies major league infield depth, as Nick Maton and Jean Segura continue to recover.
Additionally, left-hander Kent Emanuel’s rehab assignment was transferred to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
MORE: Phillies to add two 1980 World Series members to Wall of Fame —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
Everything’s bigger in Texas
…Hopefully this saying also applies to the Phillies’ offense. As pictured above, the Philadelphia roster dressed up (yes, that is Rob Thomson wearing a fedora) before boarding their plane to Texas to take on the Rangers for a two-game set. It will be the second time the two teams meet this season, with the Phillies hoping to find more luck against the third-place Rangers, who swept them in the beginning of May at Citizens Bank Park. —Declan Harris, Inside the Phillies
Game 1:
PHI starter: Kyle Gibson (4-2, 4.04 ERA)
TEX starter: Martín Pérez (4-2, 2.10 ERA)
First pitch: June 21, 8:05 p.m. EST
NBCSP/94.1 WIP
Game 2:
PHI starter: Zack Wheeler (6-3, 2.69 ERA)
TEX starter: Jon Gray (2-3, 4.27 ERA)
First pitch: June 22, 4:05 p.m. EST
NBC 10/94.1 WIP
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Lauren Amour, Alex Carr, Kade Kistner, Leo Morgenstern, and Declan Harris discuss Zach Eflin’s injury concerns, Seranthony Domínguez’s role, trade deadline possibilities and priorities, the picture Bryce Harper posted to his Instagram story, and much more!
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Phillies acquire infielder from Twins
The Phillies have bolstered their oft-injured infield with a trade with the Minnesota Twins. On Monday, the Phillies sent cash to Minnesota for Daniel Robertson.
Robertson, a former top-100 prospect and first round pick, was slated to become the Tampa Bay Rays’ second baseman of the future. In 2018, he slashed .262/.382/.415 in 340 plate appearances for an OPS+ of 122, but since then, he’s hit .209 with a .610 OPS in 351 plate appearances.
However, Robertson provides extreme versatility. He has logged innings at every position but center field, right field, and catcher. Yes, he has pitched, and not just once.
Given the Phillies' recent injury bug, Robertson is certainly an option for the Phillies’ infield, and if the bullpen continues to flounder like it has of late, perhaps he could see some time on the mound too. —Ben Silver, Inside the Phillies
Darick Hall ignites for massive Father's Day
After a torrid first two months of the season, Phillies' first base prospect Darick Hall had begun to cool down in Lehigh Valley, but he reignited in a big way on Father's Day.
Hall launched two towering home runs as part of a three-hit effort, looking every bit the part of the menacing power bat he flashed at the start of the 2022 season.
Triple-A: Camargo progressing along in rehab journey
Lehigh Valley hasn't been the kindest to Camargo, who is struggling during his rehab assignment in Triple-A. Across his first three games, Camargo has managed a .167 average alongside a .500 OPS.
Double-A: Logan O'Hoppe reheats with three-hit weekend
O'Hoppe continues to be the biggest story in the Phillies' system. The catching prospect puts up impressive offensive numbers time and time again, now hitting .282 on the season with a .954 OPS.
High-A: BlueClaws' rotation falls flat in poor weekend showing
The Jersey Shore BlueClaws had an awful weekend. They were no-hit, their most exciting new arm in Andrew Painter was scratched from his start due to workload concerns, and their rotation managed to allow 14 earned runs across 11.2 innings of work. High-profile arms Mick Abel and Ben Brown were responsible for 12 of those 14 earned runs.
Single-A: Jojo Romero tosses scoreless rehab inning
Romero tossed a clean rehab outing on Friday, sitting 93-95 on his fastball, but touching 96. The lefty has been doing a lot of work to improve his slider, now utilizing both that and his changeup as out pitches. —Alex Carr, Inside the Phillies
MORE: Logan O'Hoppe cracks MLB's top 100 prospects list —Lauren Amour, Inside the Phillies
Opinion: Laureano could aid Phillies down the stretch
Per Baseball Savant, Kyle Schwarber ranks in the 6th percentile and Nick Castellanos in the 3rd percentile in Outs Above Average (OAA). Overall, Philadelphia falls second to last in MLB in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in 2022 with -26. Their defense certainly hasn’t been their strength.
ESPN's Bradford Doolittle, MLB writer and analyst, wrote in a June 15 article that Oakland Athletics' outfielder Ramón Laureano is who the Phillies “should be clamoring for” at the trade deadline.
Laureano isn't the most enticing name from an offensive standpoint, but he has played more than 290 games in both right field and center field, and ranks in the 79th percentile in OAA.
Laureano presumably won't come at too steep of an asking price. While he comes with two extra years of control, Laureano's PED suspension greatly impacted his value. Philadelphia will probably only have to part with two or three mid-tier prospects to get the deal done. —Lauren Amour, Inside the Phillies
MORE: One of the best closers might be out of the Phillies' price range —Leo Morgenstern, Inside the Phillies