Roman Quinn Hurt, Becomes 7th Phillie On The Injured List

Yet another Phillie has gone down with an early season leg muscle injury. Roman Quinn became the seventh man on the Phillies April injured list with a right groin strain, they announced Thursday.

The oft-injured speedster was placed on the 10-day list, though he could be out longer. To fill his roster spot, the team has called up power hitting Dylan Cozens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Quinn, who has missed large chunks of every professional season of his career due to injuries, joins Jean Segura, Scott Kingery, Odubel Herrera, David Robertson, Tommy Hunter, and Victor Arano on the list.

Segura is due back Saturday, and it's believed Herrera and Kingery will not be far behind. But it's been an additional challenge for a Phillies lineup that's already dealing with streaky bats and a tough early season schedule that's already seen a number of elite arms.

Without Quinn, the Phillies are down to only one true center fielder on the active roster: Aaron Altherr, who hasn't put it all together at the plate yet this year but has shown flashes of high-end talent in the past. Another option — one which many are surprised the Phillies have not gone to yet — is shifting Andrew McCutchen from left field to center, and allowing Nick Williams' well-established bat to play every day in left. McCutchen, after all, is a former Gold Glove center fielder who was moved to left full time just two years ago.

Manager Gabe Kapler and the Phillies are obviously hesitant to do that, for reasons they may not want to discuss publicly. McCutchen has been a force atop the lineup and a valued veteran presence for the Phillies, but he's already tweaked his back once this month and the team could be wary about exposing him to additional risk in the more wide-ranging duties he'd be taking on in center.

There's also the consideration that McCutchen, now 32, is not quite at the same levels of elite defensive production in center that he was in his MVP years. However, Kapler has publicly expressed confidence that McCutchen can still play the position, even though he hasn't done so since 2016.

Cozens, 24, was once part of the vaunted Double-A Reading "bash brothers" with Rhys Hoskins, as he slugged 40 home runs in 2016. The power has never been a question for the right fielder, and he already has six in the minors this year. The main question has been consistent contact and avoiding strike outs, and it's a question that persists. In 55 at bats at Lehigh Valley in 2019, he's struck out 27 times.

It's likely Cozens will primarily be utilized as a pinch hitter and backup, with Bryce Harper set in right field and some combination of Altherr, Williams, and McCutchen manning left and center until Herrera's activation.

Aaron Nola takes the mound for the Phillies Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies open up a four-game home series with the last place Miami Marlins.