Phillies activate Austin Hays from injured list, option Cal Stevenson to spring training complex
Fresh off clinching their first NL East title since 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies activated outfielder Austin Hays from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Hays was placed on the IL earlier this month with a kidney infection.
The Phillies optioned outfielder and late-game hero Cal Stevenson to its spring training complex — the Triple-A season ended Sunday.
Hays is in the lineup, playing left field and batting sixth Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs.
Here is the Phillies' full lineup for Tuesday's game:
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- Trea Turner, SS
- Bryce Harper, 1B
- Alec Bohm, 3B
- Nick Castellanos, RF
- Austin Hays, LF
- Edmundo Sosa, 2B
- Garrett Stubbs, C
- Johan Rojas, CF
Philadelphia acquired Hays from the Baltimore Orioles a few days before the July 30 MLB trade deadline, but his time in the Phillies pinstripes has been hampered by injury. He strained his hamstring on Aug. 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, just his 10th game with the Phillies, and missed 13 games.
Then, on Sept. 5, Hays again landed on the injured list with a kidney infection.
In 19 games with the Phillies, Hays is hitting .254 with five doubles, one home run and five RBIs. Acquired as a right-handed bat to offset the team's lefty-heavy lineup, Hays is hitting .438 with the club.
Stevenson hit .286 with three doubles, five RBIs and a game-saving, home-run-robbing catch in 11 games during his second stint with the Phillies this season. On Sept. 10, he delivered some late-game heroics with a tiebreaking two-run double in the Phillies' 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
By optioning Stevenson to the spring training complex, the 28-year-old cannot return to the Phillies for 10 days, but that doesn't take him out of the equation of being on the club's postseason roster, assuming the Phils secure a first-round bye.
Philadelphia clinched the NL East on Monday night, bringing its magic number for a first-round bye down to two games. A magic number is the combination of wins needed and losses by a club's closest competition.
The Phillies can clinch the bye as early as Tuesday night if they beat the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phils enter Tuesday 3 1/2 games up on the Brewers for the second-best record in the National League, and they own the tiebreaker over Milwaukee.