BALTIMORE — 43 days after he said he would miss “six weeks or so” with a left hamstring strain, Trea Turner’s return to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup appears imminent.
While Turner isn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles at Camden Yards, manager Rob Thomson said before the game that “unless something weird happens” the plan is for the two-time All-Star shortstop to be activated from the 10-day injured list Monday.
The Phillies are set to begin a three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park Monday night. After consecutive days of Turner doing intense baserunning drills, he’ll just hit in the cage Sunday. They feel good about where he’s at ahead of his return, even if Turner may have hoped to get back even sooner.
“I do,” Thomson said Sunday morning when asked about if he feels good about where Turner is.
“And it’s taken longer because … I think it would have been shorter if he had gone on a rehab [stint], but it is what it is. But I do feel good about it. We hit him pretty hard.”
Why would Turner’s recovery been shorter if he went on a rehab stint?
“Well, he probably would have been playing quicker,” Thomson said. “And because of the fact that you’re not being tested in a game, we have to do more things here and more days here to get that done.”
Turner is hardly the first player to return to the lineup, assuming that does indeed happen Monday, without going on a minor-league rehab stint. In recent seasons, Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper have both returned directly from the injured list to the majors. Why, in Thomson’s opinion, are more veterans opting not to go on Double-A or Triple-A rehab stints?
“I don’t know. I think it’s travel,” Thomson said. “Typically, especially when the stars go out, there are things that they’re asked to do do — sign autographs, and you know, people have better access to the players in the minor leagues — so I think it can be bothersome at times.”
Turner was with the team last weekend in London doing his rehab work, and told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman that “I never truly felt like they helped,” referring to past minor-league rehab stints.
In any event, the Phillies, in need of more right-handed pop, will get back one of the faces of their franchise this week. Prior to his injury, Turner had been one of the best offensive players in the sport, as he had slashed .343 with an .852 OPS and 10 stolen bases in 33 games.
Will he just be able to hit the ground running?
“It’s hard to tell,” Thomson said. “He goes to the World Baseball Classic last year without basically any at-bats, and he kills it. So, I don’t know. I don’t know what to expect, really.”
The Phillies will have to clear a 26-man roster spot to make room for Turner. Thomson obviously wasn’t prepared to reveal who will lose their spot, but Brandon Marsh is playing center field Sunday, with David Dahl in left field. It would be reasonable to deduce then that either Johan Rojas or Cristian Pache probably won’t be with the team tomorrow. Rojas can be optioned to the minors, while Pache would have to be designated for assignment, and exposed to waivers if removed from the 26-man roster.
“Good problems to have,” Thomson said.
