At this point last year, the Philadelphia Phillies already knew they’d be without their superstar Bryce Harper for early parts of the regular season as he continued to recover from his Tommy John surgery. Missing their best player would be a difficult challenge, but not an impossible one to overcome. The Phillies were hoping the group of players competing in the World Baseball Classic would return healthy after some of the biggest names in the game suffered injuries during their time playing in the event. But, it was a Spring Training injury to Rhys Hoskins that really put Philadelphia on their backfoot. Their starting first baseman and elite slugger tore his ACL and would miss the entire season. This completely changed how they could operate on the defensive end, and without Harper already, the lineup looked completely different. The Phillies are hoping they enter 2024 with a clean bill of health to get off to a hot start unlike the previous two years. Unfortunately, Kevin Gregg in the Baseball Communications department released a statement via a press release that announced their star outfielder Brandon Marsh underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee.
According to the release, the procedure was successful and he’s only expected to miss minimal time, roughly three to four weeks, and will be ready to play on Opening Day. That’s good news. Still, this isn’t quite the health status Philadelphia was hoping to have as they enter Spring Training. Marsh became an important piece in the outfield, playing in center before moving into left field when Johan Rojas was called up.
