The Phillies are weighing Gabriel Rincones Jr. and several other Triple-A outfielders as they brace for the possibility that Adolis García could miss time after leaving Wednesday’s 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays with a right shoulder injury.
García was pulled after making a throw and was later listed as having a pulled muscle in the shoulder area, a hit the Phillies may have to absorb at a spot where their depth is thin. Steward Berroa finished the game in right field, but the bigger question now is who comes next if García needs more than a quick check-up.
That is where Rincones enters the conversation. The Phillies can choose among Otto Kemp, Felix Reyes, Rincones, Bryan De La Cruz and Dylan Carlson at Triple-A Lehigh Valley if García or another outfielder has to miss time, and Rincones could eventually fill the strong side of a platoon. It is not a small detail for a club that is six games over.500 and has leaned on an outfield group that ranks 30th in the majors in FanGraphs WAR.
Philadelphia’s problem is not simply replacing one player. The organization does not have another major-league-ready everyday outfielder waiting behind the roster, which makes any injury in the grass a potential domino. Justin Crawford has already been used in a platoon role in center field, and Berroa is in the majors more for defense and speed than as a long-term solution.
That leaves De La Cruz as the closest thing to an everyday outfielder in the minors, though he is not on the 40-man roster, and it keeps Rincones on the shortlist as a possible left-right complement rather than a sure-fire call-up. The Phillies were set to evaluate García further after the injury, and until they know how long he is out, the shape of the outfield remains unsettled.
There is at least one reason for optimism: the Phillies are 29-13 since Zack Wheeler was activated from the injured list, a stretch that has allowed them to survive other roster questions. But if García’s shoulder keeps him out, the club may have to patch the outfield with platoons and whatever it can promote from Lehigh Valley, with Rincones now sitting squarely in that mix.
