Trey Turner said on May 3, the day he sprained his ankle, he expected to be out for six weeks, and that’s exactly when he was out. He returned to the Phillies’ active roster Monday to begin a six-game home stand.
Turner will continue in his role as the No. 2 hitter behind Kyle Schwarber.
In 33 games, Edmundo Sosa hit .282/.342/.509 with five doubles, four triples, four homers, 17 RBI and 22 runs scored in Turner’s absence, both offensively and defensively. The Phillies won 22-11.
With Turner back, Sosa returns to his super-utility role. He will get work in the outfield in the pregame sessions to give the Phillies another right-handed hitting option in left field or center field.
The Phillies face a tough decision in making room for Turner on the active roster. The victim was Johan Rojas, who was optioned to Triple A. The other options were to nominate Christian Patch or David Dahl, options that could result in either player being snapped up by another club.
Rojas plays every day in Triple A and will receive plenty of at-bats as the Phillies look for him to gain more offensive leverage. In 58 games this season, he’s hitting .235/.271/.295. In 59 games last summer, he hit .302/.342/.430. He struggled mightily in the end and the Phillies didn’t expect that level of offensive production to carry over, but they needed more than what he provided in 196 plate appearances.
Without Rojas, the Phillies look set to play Brandon Marsh and Patch in center field with Whit Merrifield and Dahl in left field.