The Phillies announced that they’ve placed outfielder Cristian Pache on the 10-day IL with a torn meniscus in his right knee and recalled outfielder Dalton Guthrie.
It’s a tough break for a young player who was enjoying a nice run with the Phillies, batting .360/.360/.600 through 26 plate appearances this season. Sure, it’s a small sample size but for a former top prospect who’d struggled to take off in the big leagues, it was a promising start on a new team. The Phillies haven’t outlined the next steps for Pache, but Andrew Velazquez required surgery to repair a torn meniscus at the back end of last season and that came with a six-to-eight-week recovery.
The Phillies acquired Pache from Oakland in exchange for Billy Sullivan at the end of spring training. One of the key pieces in the Matt Olson deal between Atlanta and Oakland, Pache had struggled with the A’s, hitting just .166/.218/.241 with three home runs in 260 plate appearances. That did come with his usual excellent defense in center, as Pache put up seven Outs Above Average for Oakland last year, but clearly, it wasn’t enough to make up for the batting line.
Quality defense and poor offense have been the story of Pache’s career to date, as the former top-100 prospect struggled in a handful of games with the Braves prior to his move to Oakland. While it’s far too early to suggest he’d turned a corner in Philadelphia, it was a promising start and given his excellent outfield defense even a small uptick in offense from his previous seasons could make him a valuable player.
With Pache out, the Phillies will add Guthrie to their big-league roster. Guthrie was slashing .278/.380/.481 with two home runs this year at Triple-A. The sixth-round pick in 2017 made 14 appearances for the Phillies last year, hitting .333/.500/.476.
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