How Phils will adjust with Turner (hamstring) on the IL

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies made a deep run in each of the past two postseasons despite at least one star player missing a significant chunk of the regular season.

Now, they’ll look to do so for a third straight year.

Trea Turner is expected to miss approximately six weeks with a strained left hamstring. He was placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Saturday night’s 14-3 win over the Giants at Citizens Bank Park, one day after he sustained the injury while sliding into home plate as he scored from second on a passed ball.

“It’s tough. It’s one of the best players in the game you’re losing,” manager Rob Thomson said. “But we’ve been through this before. People just pick it up; that’s why we’ve got a team.”

The Phillies received another scare involving their other starter on the left side of the infield, when Alec Bohm departed in the bottom of the third inning of Saturday’s victory with right hip tightness. The team, however, said that move was strictly a precaution.

Meanwhile, Turner’s IL stint is a tough break not only for the star shortstop, who was off to a scorching start, but also for a Phillies team (23-11) that is in sole possession of first place in the National League East this late in the season for the first time since 2021.

“Well, this is only hour two, so right now, I'm OK,” Turner said of his frustration level on Saturday morning. “But I'm sure after two or three days, I'll already be sick of it. It's going to be tough watching. But I'll try to help out any way I can. Talk to guys. I'm still in it with them, obviously.”

In Turner, the Phillies are losing not only their starting shortstop but a linchpin of one of the best offenses in baseball.

The right-handed-hitting Turner has settled in perfectly at the No. 2 spot this season, slashing .343/.392/.460 (.852 OPS) and leading the team in stolen bases (10) and runs (27) while effectively breaking up Philadelphia’s left-handed sluggers atop the lineup in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

Turner has been a key cog, hitting .368 with a .911 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in the Phillies’ 22 wins. He's hitting .286 with a .719 OPS and just one extra-base hit in the club's 11 losses.

With Turner sidelined, J.T. Realmuto -- who had been hitting fifth recently after starting the year in the cleanup spot -- is expected to become the primary No. 2 hitter. Bohm, who recently took over the cleanup role, will remain in that spot behind Harper.

“Hopefully J.T. can fill the void there,” Thomson said. “I wanted to keep Bohm behind Harp because he gives him some protection. He’s so hot right now.”

As for covering Turner’s spot at shortstop, while there was some speculation on Friday night that Bryson Stott could shift to short if Turner missed significant time, that wasn’t the move on Saturday. Edmundo Sosa started at shortstop against the Giants, while Stott remained at second base.

“For the most part, I think Sosa’s going to play short,” Thomson said.

That said, Stott will see some time at shortstop -- likely as soon as Sunday. With Sosa logging only 23 plate appearances over nine games entering Saturday, Thomson is hesitant to immediately thrust him into an everyday role.

The Phillies also want Stott to get some pregame reps at shortstop before sending him out there in a game -- something that wasn’t possible with the tarp on the field prior to Saturday’s game.

On those days when Stott does slide to shortstop -- his natural position and the one he played for the majority of his rookie season in 2022 -- the Phils will turn to either Whit Merrifield or Kody Clemens at second base. Merrifield also volunteered to play short, if needed, though he has never played the position in the Majors -- and he hasn’t taken any game reps there since 2015, when he logged 32 innings at short for Triple-A Omaha.

“This is who Whit is: Whit texted me last night and he said, ‘I haven’t played short in pro ball, but I did in college, and I’m more than willing to go out there and play,’” Thomson said. “He’s a good teammate.”

But will the Phillies take him up on it?

“We’ll take a look at it, for sure,” Thomson said.

However, that’s an option that likely wouldn’t materialize for weeks, if at all.

For Turner, this is only his fourth career IL stint (not including COVID) -- and his first since 2019. He missed six weeks with a broken right index finger in '19 and two months with a fractured right wrist in '17. He missed only 11 days with a strained right hamstring in April ‘17, but this one is far more severe.

“Anything before [six weeks], I think, would be a win,” Turner said. “That's what they're telling me as of right now.”