Overview
- Interim manager Don Mattingly has begun routinely sitting Brandon Marsh against left-handed starting pitchers, with Marsh held out on Saturday in what was the second such benching this week.
- Mattingly is deploying a handedness-based outfield plan that starts Marsh and right-handed hitters against righty pitchers and uses Edmundo Sosa, Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz against lefties.
- Marsh’s splits against left-handers — a .233 batting average and a .645 OPS overall and a 3-for-26 stretch since June 25 — are the statistical basis Mattingly cited for the change.
- Marsh has publicly accepted the role and framed it as team-first, but the club also plans to pursue a right-handed bat before the Aug. 3 trade deadline to reduce reliance on platoons.
- The decision comes as the Phillies juggle roster churn and bullpen health, with reliever Brad Keller traveling for a second opinion and Tommy John surgery the likeliest outcome while multiple minor-league recalls, options and a DFA reshaped depth.