Catcher Rafael Marchan was called up from the Phillies alternate site after JT Realmuto injured his hip. As expected, Andrew Knapp has gotten most of the playing time, but Marchan has seen action in doubleheaders.
That's when it happened. In the bottom of the fourth, Marchan, all of 5 foot 9 and 21 years old, crushed his first professional home run deep into the seats in right field. That's right—his first home run as a pro came in the majors.
The Phils loved this kid in spring training. Manager Joe Girardi was raving about his defense. Even though it's a teeny sample size (six at-bats), the kid is hitting .500 with an OPS of 1.500.
The Phillies also announced yesterday that the team has lost more than $100 million this season from not having fans in attendance, and would begin buyouts and layoffs. Realmuto will be the marquee free agent available after the season. The evil Mets, and their obscenely wealthy new owner, would love to make a statement and sign JT.
Will the Phils point to Marchan's early success and cry poor and let Realmuto go? They better effing not. Jake Arrieta's contract is finally off the books, freeing up plenty of cash to sign JT. Marchan is a great story so far, but is he really ready for prime time?
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