Rafael Marchán heads to IL with knee injury

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters Marchán suffered the injury on a swing and will undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue. The club is probably going to have to scramble to bring in a backup catcher behind starter J.T. Realmuto with Garrett Stubbs (wrist) already on the injured list.

Realmuto had missed two games but played Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs; however, he felt that the injury was “too restrictive.” The veteran has played through foot and back injuries this year to slash .259/.344/.352 in 61 plate appearances. Rafael Marchán will likely split time with Garrett Stubbs until Realmuto returns.

There’s cause for concern here with Realmuto missing his second consecutive contest after exiting a game over the weekend with lower back tightness. Rafael Marchán will continue handling the catching duties for Philadelphia in his absence.

Realmuto was removed from Saturday’s game in the sixth inning with tightness in his lower back, and the 35-year-old will get at least one more day off for the series finale. Rafael Marchan will handle catching duties in Realmuto’s absence.

Realmuto was replaced by Rafael Marchan behind the plate. He’s again day-to-day after missing a couple of games with a foot contusion earlier this month.

Realmuto will continue receiving treatment and should benefit from Thursday’s off-day after suffering a contusion when he fouled a ball off his right foot during Tuesday’s game in San Francisco. It’ll be a pain-tolerance issue that determines whether Realmuto is ready later this week. It’ll be Rafael Marchán handling the catching duties if he’s unable to go.

Realmuto fouled a ball off his foot on Tuesday and was forced to leave the game. X-rays were negative, but he will miss at least one game with an off day on Thursday. Rafael Marchan will start behind the dish and bat eighth on Wednesday.

Realmuto fouled a ball off his right foot in the second inning and was forced to depart the contest with Rafael Marchán taking over behind the plate. He’ll presumably undergo precautionary X-rays to make sure he didn’t suffer any fractures.

Though it was the Pirates fielding two teams today, the Phillies had the weaker lineup posted today, bringing none of their likely regulars to Bradenton. Nevertheless, they pulled this one out with a nine-spot in the fourth and then four runs in the ninth to break a 10-10 tie. Marchán improved to 4-for-16 for the spring. Though the Phillies are making some odd noises about carrying Garrett Stubbs as a utilityman, Marchán appears to be locked in as the primary backup to J.T. Realmuto for the second straight year.

Crawford is the favorite to start in center field for the Phillies on Opening Day. He’ll need a strong performance in Grapefruit League action to lock up the spot but he doesn’t have a ton of competition. The 22-year-old former first-round pick batted .334/.411/.452 with seven homers and 46 steals in 112 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this past season. He’ll make a fantasy impact in the stolen base department, but counting on anything beyond that in his first taste of the majors might be too optimistic, especially since he’s likely to bat at the bottom of the order. Here is the full lineup: Crawford (CF), Adolis García (RF), Edmundo Sosa (SS), Otto Kemp (LF), Bryan De La Cruz (DH), Rafael Marchán (C), Dylan Moore (2B), Christian Cairo (3B) and Keaton Anthony (1B).