Phillies still without Rhys Hoskins, add Edmundo Sosa to injured list

ATLANTA — The Phillies have weathered their fair share of injuries this season, and, 80 wins later, they’ve come out of it well. Perhaps that’s why on Friday, when Rhys Hoskins missed a start due to a bruised right hand, and Edmundo Sosa was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, the clubhouse didn’t feel like a mortuary.

Newcomer Brandon Marsh, who was dealt to the Phillies before the trade deadline, calls it a “next man up” mentality.

“We have to rely on everyone,” he said. “I know how badly [Nick] Castellanos wants to be out here. We all do. But we need 100% Casty, not 70%. And that goes for everyone. We don’t panic. Instead, we rely on guys like [Yairo] Muñoz, [Nick] Maton, Dalton] Guthrie. Matty V. [Vierling], myself, Stotter [Bryson Stott].

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins hopes to play in Atlanta after bruising his right hand on hit by pitch

“Everyone has their roles; some are big, some are smaller, but we all have to play and fill our roles. I’m sure it’s happened before I got here but it’s been super fun to see a lot of guys coming up behind the big-time starters and filling their role in, and playing some pretty damn good baseball.”

The Phillies haven’t always had the depth to cope with these kinds of absences, but this year they do. Muñoz, a utility infielder who was hitting .310/.338/.775 in triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, was recalled when Sosa was placed on the IL. He was moved to third base, and Alec Bohm, who has experience at first base, was moved to cover for Hoskins on Friday. Guthrie, who has hit .302 in Lehigh Valley this year, has filled in for Castellanos, who has a right oblique strain.

Zack Wheeler hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 20, but his replacement, southpaw Bailey Falter, has given the Phillies four quality starts out of his five outings. Would the Phillies prefer to have their regulars healthy? Yes. Are they alarmed when they don’t have them? No.

» READ MORE: With a healthy Zack Wheeler and Seranthony Domínguez, Phillies would be in better shape than in 2007

Which is good, because they might not get some of them back right away. Hoskins told interim manager Rob Thomson that he felt sore after taking a swing on Friday. Hoskins was hit on the hand by a pitch on Wednesday, and has been day to day since then.

There is no timeline for Castellanos’ return. He’s been on the injured list since Sept. 3. He tried to take some swings a few days ago, and felt stiff, so the Phillies decided to ease his workload. Thomson said that he’ll take some more dry swings in a couple of days, but they’re not going to rush him.

And then there is Sosa, who has seen his slash line jump from .189/.244/.270 with the Cardinals in the first half of this season, to .315/.345/.593 with the Phillies in the second half, thanks to some work with hitting coach Kevin Long. When asked if Sosa would need more than 10 days to rejoin the team, Thomson said, “I would think so.” When asked if he expects Sosa’s hamstring injury to linger into October, Thomson said, “I hope not.”

“It’s bad enough to IL it,” Thomson said of Sosa. “He didn’t hear it pop or anything like that, but it’s bad enough to IL. And you’ve got to be careful with those things.”

Like with Castellanos, Thomson said he’s not looking to rush Sosa back, even though the infielder has proved to be quite valuable on both sides of the ball. Not having to rush players through their injuries is a luxury the Phillies didn’t always have. Now, with an influx of young talent, that has shown it is more than capable of filling in the gaps, they do.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Zach Eflin makes successful return, could be ‘Swiss Army knife’ down the stretch

Zack Wheeler faced live hitters in a simulation game on Friday, and said he felt “good” afterwards. Wheeler hit 96-98 mph on the radar gun, and will be re-evaluated on Saturday. The Phillies are shooting for the pitcher to start opener on Wednesday, and have a pitcher piggyback behind him. Thomson said it’s likely that Wheeler will throw a bullpen in the coming days, before a Wednesday start (if the Phillies deem that he’s ready for that).

Wheeler said he threw 20 pitches in the bullpen, eight warmup pitches, and 15 in the first up and 10 in the second up. When asked if he would be ready to pitch in the playoffs — potentially in Game 1 of a playoff series — after three starts in September, he said he could be.

“Yeah, I mean it just depends on how many pitches you’re throwing per inning,” Wheeler said. “It could be two up and downs, it could be four or five the first time out. So I think you’re probably going off of pitch count. As long as I’m up to 90 pitches or seven innings by the time playoffs roll around, I think I’ll be fine.

“I just want to make it to the playoffs, that’s the biggest thing. I’ve never been, so whoever starts it, I could really care less. Anybody is a good option.”

Thomson said on Friday that no conclusions have been made about Falter’s roster spot yet. Falter was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Wheeler on Aug. 26. Thomson mentioned a six-man rotation or a piggyback tandem as a possibility to keep Falter up in the big leagues, but said the team has yet to make a decision.