Phillies place Austin Hays on the 10-day injured list with a kidney infection

MIAMI — Two weeks after coming back from the injured list, Phillies left fielder Austin Hays is back on the shelf.

And this time, he has a health issue that may take more time to resolve.

Hays is dealing with a kidney infection, the team disclosed Thursday. He returned to Philadelphia to undergo further testing and to determine a course of treatment after antibiotics didn’t work.

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“We thought originally that 48 hours of antibiotics would have a chance to knock it out. It just didn’t,” manager Rob Thomson said before the Phillies opened a four-game series with the Marlins. “It feels worse [Thursday]. We want to make sure that we know what’s going on.”

The Phillies traded for Hays before the July 30 deadline and planned to give him most of the at-bats in left field. But Hays missed 13 games with a strained left hamstring and has been sidelined since Sunday night by the kidney problem.

Hays is 17-for-67 (.254) with five doubles, one homer, and a .649 OPS in 19 games for the Phillies. He’s 7-for-16 (.438) with a 1.126 OPS against lefties compared to 10-for-51 with a .501 OPS vs. right-handers.

The Phillies recalled outfielder Cal Stevenson from triple A to take Hays’ roster spot. But Hays’ absence figures to create additional playing time for center fielder Johan Rojas.

With 23 games left in the season, the Phillies are still working through their optimal alignment in left and center field. It mostly boils down to whether Hays’ offense against righties outweighs Rojas’ elite center-field defense. If so, the plan is to play Hays every day, with Brandon Marsh and Rojas splitting time in center field. If not, Hays and Marsh will share left field, with Rojas playing more often in center.

Now, though, the Phillies aren’t certain when Hays will return.

“They’re telling me that it’s hard to tell how long it takes,” Thomson said.

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Alec Bohm wasn’t in the lineup for a sixth game in a row because of a sore left hand. The Phillies remain hopeful that the third baseman will return in Miami, though likely not before Saturday.

“Hope so,” Thomson said. “But he’s going to have to have a day of [batting practice] and cage work. Once he does that and comes out of that, there’s a good chance he gets back into the game.”

Bohm went through defensive drills on the field and continued taking swings without hitting a ball in the batting cage. Thomson said Bohm continues to report that he’s not free of pain.

“It’s just like one spot where he gets to [in his swing] where he starts rolling his hands over where he can feel it,” Thomson said. “It feels a little bit better every day. But it really hasn’t progressed as quickly as we originally thought.”

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Bryce Harper returned to the lineup, as he predicted, after getting hit on the left elbow Wednesday in Toronto and leaving the game.

“I think it was more scary than anything, just getting hit on that funny bone,” Thomson said. “I wanted to get him out of there, and if there’s any swelling, just knock it out as soon as possible.”

Harper recently told MLB.com that he has played for week with pain in his right elbow and wrist. He hasn’t missed any time, starting 15 games in a row and 42 of 43 since the All-Star break.

If the Phillies weren’t vying for the best overall record in the National League, would they give Harper several days off in a row?

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Thomson said. “But at some point, if we need to rest him, we would.”

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