Phillies Dealing With Two New Injuries in Camp

The Phillies have stayed mostly healthy during spring training, save for the lower back soreness of Aidan Miller and lingering knee soreness for Gabriel Rincones Jr., neither of whom was projected to make the Opening Day roster.

Zack Wheeler is five bullpen sessions into his rehab from September surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, so that process is going well.

Brandon Marsh missed about a week of games in late February with hand inflammation from sliding practice but he has since returned.

A hamstring injury has kept Orion Kerkering out of Grapefruit League action to this point, but he could return next week.

There are two new Phillies injuries this week, though. Right-handed reliever Max Lazar is dealing with something in his oblique/abdominal area, and minor-league first baseman Keaton Anthony broke a bone after fouling a ball off his right foot, manager Rob Thomson told reporters, including MLB.com and the Philadelphia Inquirer, after Tuesday's game. Anthony is expected to have surgery later in the week.

Lazar's injury

Lazar had been with Israel in the World Baseball Classic but was set to return to camp in the next day or two anyway because his team had been eliminated. He made one WBC appearance, retiring the only two hitters he faced, both lefties.

Lazar, 26, is one of about a dozen relievers vying for two open jobs in the Phillies' bullpen. He's the one Thomson has seen the most of after making 47 appearances the last two seasons for the Phils.

Even if his injury is minor, the Phillies will likely take it slow with Lazar because there's no need or urgency to rush him back for Opening Day, whether that's with Triple-A Lehigh Valley or the Phils. There are a host of other right-handed relievers they could pick for that final spot: Zach Pop (out of options), Zach McCambley (Rule 5 pick), Chase Shugart, Seth Johnson, Nolan Hoffman, veterans Lou Trivino and Trevor Richards. Even if healthy, it's not as if Lazar had separated himself from that pack.

Anthony to miss time

Anthony, ranked the Phillies' No. 30 prospect last week by MLB Pipeline, went 0-for-16 this spring after hitting .330 last season at Double A and .313 at Triple A. The 24-year-old has hit at every level of the Phillies' minor-league system, batting .324 in 199 career games, albeit without much power.

He has played exclusively first base on the farm with the Phillies but Anthony did get into a game in left field this spring. He's clearly blocked at first base, so why not?

Anthony figured to open the season at Triple-A with the IronPigs but he'll instead miss some time during the first half of the season. It should mean even more early reps for right-handed hitting first baseman Felix Reyes, who signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in February 2020.

The 24-year-old Reyes hit .335 last season with Double-A Reading to win the Eastern League batting title and MVP. He has performed well in big-league camp, going 6-for-19 (.316) with a double, homer and six RBI.