Phillies place Rhys Hoskins on the injured list, as Andrew McCutchen gets set to return

Rhys Hoskins took batting practice and fielded ground balls Tuesday with the hope that his strained left groin would respond well enough for him to return to the Phillies’ lineup within the next few days.

Instead, he will miss at least the rest of the week.

As the Phillies prepare to get Andrew McCutchen back, likely on Wednesday, from a knee injury, they placed Hoskins on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielder Mickey Moniak from triple-A Lehigh Valley. The move, which came on the four-year anniversary of Hoskins’ major-league debut, is retroactive to Aug. 7. He will be eligible for reinstatement to the roster next Tuesday before the opener of a three-game series in Arizona.

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Hoskins has been hobbled since July 29, when he landed awkwardly after diving to try to snare a line drive. He missed four games in a row before returning for three games last week in Washington and going 5-for-13 with two doubles and a home run. The Phillies said at the time that Hoskins wasn’t feeling 100%, and manager Joe Girardi cautioned him to “guard it a little bit.”

“I just said, ‘I don’t want you trying to stretch a single into a double, a double into a triple,’” Girardi said last week. “I told him, ‘Be smart.’”

But Hoskins sat out last weekend’s three-game sweep of the New York Mets and wouldn’t have played Tuesday night against Dodgers starter Max Scherzer. Overall, he has missed eight of the last 11 games.

Although the Phillies will miss Hoskins in the middle of the lineup, they should get a boost from McCutchen, whose .574 slugging percentage since June 1 is the seventh-best mark in the National League.

McCutchen hasn’t played since July 31 because of left knee inflammation. But he expressed optimism last week that he would be able to return after 10 days. He tested the injury by running the bases and is on track to be activated before Wednesday night’s game.

Zach Eflin threw what Girardi described as a “light side” session Monday, a step in his recovery from patellar tendinitis in his right knee. It marked the first time that Eflin threw from a mound since a July 18 bullpen session that preceded his placement on the injured list.

Eflin will throw at least one more bullpen session, “probably with a little more intensity and a few more pitches,” according to Girardi, before he faces hitters or goes out on a minor-league rehab assignment.

“As he talked about it, it wasn’t always necessarily the pitching,” Girardi said of what has triggered Eflin’s knee issues. “A lot of times it was a sudden movement that he would make that would kind of irritate it.”

The Phillies wore black T-shirts with the slogan “Brito Strong” during batting practice. Second baseman Jean Segura came up with the idea to show support for triple-A infielder Daniel Brito, who collapsed on the field Aug. 1 and underwent two surgeries for what the team has characterized only as a “medical emergency.”

Last week, the Phillies announced that Brito was in stable condition at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.

“Not everyone knows Daniel, but he means a lot. He’s one of us,” Girardi said. “He’s going through a really tough time. We’re all praying for him and want him to know that we’re behind him and we’ve got his back and want to do whatever we can.”

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Dodgers star Mookie Betts was scratched from the lineup with a right hip injury that could land him on the injured list Wednesday, according to manager Dave Roberts. ... Reliever Connor Brogdon (right elbow tendinitis) faced hitters in live batting practice Monday and could come off the injured list Wednesday. Left-hander Bailey Falter (COVID-19 list) also faced hitters. ... Seranthony Dominguez (Tommy John elbow surgery) is scheduled to make his fourth minor-league rehab appearance Wednesday at double-A Reading. ... With Chase Anderson (right triceps tendinitis) ineligible to come off the injured list until Sunday, the Phillies haven’t decided on a fifth starter, likely for Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. Left-hander Matt Moore could be an option depending on his usage in the Dodgers series. ... Kyle Gibson (8-3, 2.79 ERA overall between the Rangers and Phillies) is slated to start Wednesday night against Dodgers lefty David Price (4-1, 3.53).