Both the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees will be without their regular right fielders for Saturday’s matchup at Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Judge is out of the Yankees’ lineup with a right elbow injury that’s made it difficult for him to throw from the outfield. The team is currently awaiting imaging results.
And while it doesn’t appear to be as potentially serious, Nick Castellanos will sit out Saturday’s game due to a knee injury suffered in Friday’s 12-5 win over the Yankees. Castellanos jammed his left knee while running toward the right field wall to make the final out, according to Phillies manager Rob Thomson.
The Phillies’ right fielder went 2-for-5 in the Phillies’ win and is hitting .270/.311/.434 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 56 RBI. He’s third among Philadelphia’s regulars in homers and second in RBI.
Castellanos’ knee was sore Saturday, so the Phillies decided to keep him out of the lineup. Thomson said they will check back on the knee for Sunday, but it appears this is more of a day-to-day issue compared to what the Yankees are fearing with Judge, pending his MRI results.
With Castellanos out, Max Kepler (.201, .661 OPS, 11 HR) will get the start in right field. Brandon Marsh (.244, .659 OPS) will move over to left field and Johan Rojas (.232, .589) will play center on Saturday. That lack of punch without Castellanos might be a factor in what the Phillies pursue before next week’s MLB trade deadline.
Another outfielder could help and Philadelphia has reportedly shown interest in the Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan (.282, .762 OPS). Calling up top outfield prospect Justin Crawford is another possibility, but Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wants him to play every day, which he might not do on the major league roster.
Crawford, 21, is batting .326/.409/.430 for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He wouldn’t add power to the Phillies lineup with only three home runs, but would bring speed with 31 stolen bases.
Philadelphia has also been attached to Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez in trade rumors. Adding the third baseman and his 37 homers would give the Phillies two of the National League’s top three home run hitters, joining Kyle Schwarber.
