Phillies injury update: Robertson, Arrieta & Quinn

The Phillies made a series of announcements on the injury front prior to Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

None of them were good.

First, outfielder Roman Quinn is heading to the IL once again, the third time this season. This time, it’s a slight groin strain suffered in the 9th inning of Friday’s 8-4 win, and it comes at an unfortunate time.

In 13 games this month, the switch hitting center fielder had a 1.139 OPS and he hit a mammoth solo home run in last night’s win.

Adam Haseley will likely see an uptick in playing time in Quinn’s absence. The Phillies hope Quinn will be able to return before the end of the regular season. Newly acquired reliever Jared Hughes, acquired from Cincinnati on Friday, will take his spot on the 25-man roster.

Quinn has repeatedly missed time during his Major League and minor league career. He suffered an oblique strain in spring training and then a groin injury in May.

David Robertson received the news he feared worst, that his injury would require Tommy John surgery and will likely force him to miss anywhere from 14-16 months, likely ending any thoughts of him returning in 2020. Although, Robertson doesn’t seem to be as pessimistic.

Should he fail to return, the Phils would have invested $23 million in the usually reliable right-hander in exchange for seven appearances, 6.2 innings pitched and four earned runs allowed. It’s a shocking turn of events, as the Phils targeted Robertson based on his ability to stay healthy throughout his career. From 2010-18, Robertson had never appeared in fewer than 60 games and never had an ERA higher than 3.82.

Finally, Jake Arrieta had surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow, officially ending his 2019 season. The Phillies say he should be ready to go by spring training next year.

Arrieta finished his second season with 24 starts, 135.2 innings and a 4.84 ERA. Due to the pain in his elbow, he failed to complete six innings in any of his last seven starts, with a 5.34 ERA since the start of July. Zach Eflin will take his spot in the rotation.