PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies returned to Citizens Bank Park on Friday with a different lineup than most expected. Infielder Kody Clemens, who was activated earlier that day, was in the eight hole. Bench outfielder Jake Cave was in the seven hole. Instead of batting second and third, Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins were raising the 2022 National League pennant in Ashburn Alley. Hoskins, who is recovering from left knee ACL surgery, was leaning on a crutch.
This wasn’t how president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski drew it up. But this is the reality of the 2023 Phillies right now. A $250 million team has eight players on the 40-man roster on the injured list. The good news is that they have experience to draw from.
The 2023 Phillies will have to take a page out of the 2022 Phillies’ book. They will have to rally around their injured players. They will have to cobble together hits and runs until they come back. And on Friday, in a 5-2 home opener victory on a brisk April day, they did that.
