Phillies put Alec Bohm on injured list; infielder Drew Ellis called up from Lehigh Valley

NEW YORK — It took all of 55 games for the Phillies to get to Plan D at first base.

And it will involve a player who was out of work in April.

Alec Bohm went on the 10-day injured list, as expected, Thursday with what manager Rob Thomson characterized as a “very mild” left hamstring strain. The move is retroactive to Wednesday, leaving Bohm eligible to return on June 10, though it’s hardly a guarantee he will be back so promptly.

“I guess, possibly,” Thomson said. “But we want to make sure it’s knocked out and it doesn’t come back, so however long that takes.”

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It’s a considerable loss. Bohm is batting .265/.321/.403 with six homers, roughly league average production. But he started 52 games, including 32 at first base after Rhys Hoskins (Plan A) was lost to a season-ending knee injury late in spring training and Darick Hall (Plan B) suffered a torn thumb ligament in early April.

Without Bohm, Thomson said Edmundo Sosa will get most of the playing time at third base. Kody Clemens will continue to play first base against right-handed pitchers. But the Phillies don’t want to expose Clemens to lefties, so they brought up nonroster infielder Drew Ellis from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Ellis, 27, wasn’t even in the organization when the season began. He got released by the Mariners on March 17, went home to Indiana for nearly a month, and worked out with his brother in case an interested team called.

“I was on my couch and was actually talking to my agent, and it was like, ‘Is this it?’” Ellis said. “I didn’t know. I might have had to go play [independent] ball. I just wasn’t sure about things.”

The Phillies signed Ellis to a minor-league contract on April 16 and sent him to extended spring training in Clearwater, Fla. He joined double-A Reading on May 2 and got promoted to Lehigh Valley two weeks later. He was batting .269/.380/.628 with eight homers in only 92 plate appearances.

Ellis, a right-handed hitter, will play first base against lefties, likely beginning Saturday in Washington when the Phillies face Nationals rookie MacKenzie Gore. He has played 42 games at first base in the minors, but never in the majors.

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“I played first quite a bit in college [at Louisville],” said Ellis, a .140/.267/.209 hitter in 36 major league games, mostly at third base. “I feel comfortable all over the infield. Wherever they want me, I’m going to try to go out there and do what I can.”

Bohm’s injury comes at a time when the Phillies have scored only nine runs in five games. He sat out Sunday night in Atlanta, citing tightness in the hamstring. The Phillies didn’t play Monday. Bohm returned to the lineup Tuesday night, but his hamstring flared when he charged a slow roller to third base.

“He had the two days off and thought we had it knocked out,” Thomson said. “Then he came in on that ball and just felt it.”

The Phillies have a tantalizing idea (call it “Plan E”) in mind for first base. But while Bryce Harper is continuing his every-other-day workouts at the position, he has not yet been cleared to throw to bases.

Harper is six months removed from Tommy John surgery, and the Phillies won’t risk his reconstructed right elbow by accelerating his throwing program. A setback would jeopardize his ability to be the designated hitter.

And so for now, it will be Clemens and Ellis, who chalked up his success in the minors to an improved mentality.

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“I just kind of refound that headspace that I’ve been looking for, the patience with myself and not getting too anxious, not getting too angry with myself,” Ellis said. “I had a really good year in ‘21, kind of struggled in ‘22. Just trying to get back to the basics and doing things the right way.”

To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Ellis, the Phillies removed outfielder Cal Stevenson, designating him for assignment. They claimed Stevenson off waivers from the Giants last week.

José Alvarado will begin a minor league assignment Saturday at Lehigh Valley and likely will make two appearances before being reinstated from the injured list. Alvarado has been out since May 7 with left elbow inflammation. ... Ellis became the second Phillies player to be assigned No. 35 since Cole Hamels was traded in 2015. Reserve outfielder Óscar Mercado wore it during his brief Phillies tenure last year. ... Coming off eight scoreless innings Saturday in Atlanta, Zack Wheeler (4-4, 3.60 ERA) will start Friday night in Washington against Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray (4-5, 2.77).