Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader left Game 1 of the NLDS, an eventual 5-3 loss against the Dodgers, due to a groin injury. Game 2 isn’t until Monday at 6:08 p.m. ET, but Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Sunday that an MRI showed no major tear or strain.
“We’ll know more tomorrow, but I think after the game they stretched him out,” Thomson told reporters. “They got him moving around a little bit, and I think he felt a lot better after that. We’ll know whether he’s available to start or at least to pinch-hit. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
Bader, 31, was acquired by the Phillies on trade deadline day from the Twins. In his 50 games in the regular season for the Phillies, he hit .305/.361/.463 (124 OPS+) with excellent defense in center field. He posted 1.4 WAR. In two plate appearances in Game 1, he had a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch before being replaced in the bottom of the seventh inning. He also made a diving catch in center.
If Bader does end up missing a game or more, the Phillies could use Brandon Marsh in center field instead of left and put Nick Castellanos in right field, flipping Max Kepler to left. In Game 2, the Dodgers are starting lefty Blake Snell, so the platoons say that Castellanos and Weston Wilson will be in there for Marsh and Kepler, respectively. That means if Bader can’t play, the Phillies will either need to play the left handed-hitting Marsh in center or put Otto Kemp in the lineup, unless they want to throw Edmundo Sosa in the outfield.
Needless to say, they really need Bader to be good to go for Game 2.