Phillies’ Brandon Marsh Undergoes Left Knee Surgery, Expected to Return By Opening Day
Spring training officially begins next week for the Philadelphia Phillies, although they’ll be without outfielder Brandon Marsh for at least 3-4 weeks.
Marsh, the club’s projected everyday left fielder in 2024, underwent successful arthroscopic debridement surgery on his left knee Friday morning, per the team’s announcement. The procedure was performed back home in Philadelphia by Dr. Steven Cohen.
The Phillies expect the 26-year-old to resume baseball activities before the end of February, likely returning to game action next month and being ready for Opening Day.
Acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, Marsh excelled in his first full season with Philadelphia last year, hitting .277/.372/.458 with 12 home runs, 60 RBIs and a 125 wRC+ – all of which were career highs – over 133 games. He was worth 3.4 fWAR, also a career-best.
He helped pave the way for the Phillies’ return to the NLCS last post-season, going 8-for-38 (.342 AVG) in 12 contests, delivering five extra-base hits – including a solo blast in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves – while driving in four.
Opting for surgery before camp opens will, as the organization believes, ensure the left-handed hitter doesn’t miss any games once they head north for the regular season. If he did, his departure would be a significant loss for an already thin outfield group.
As Bryce Harper transitions to first base full-time, the Phillies’ starting outfield trio is slated to include Marsh, Johan Rojas and Nick Castellanos from left to right. That would leave Cristian Pache and Jake Cave as options off the bench.
Philadelphia is just one injury scare away from having to call upon Triple-A players such as Kody Clemens, Cal Stevenson or recent waiver claim Diego Castillo – a less-than-ideal outcome.
If all else fails, the Phillies could consider temporarily moving Harper back to right field, forcing Alec Bohm or Darick Hall to first base. But that seems highly unlikely after president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski declared the former MVP would exclusively play first earlier this off-season.
As such, the front office could explore strengthening its outfield depth in free agency or via trade before the regular season opens. So far, however, they’ve been fairly quiet with their activity this winter – outside of attempting to lock up starter Zack Wheeler.
Either way, the Phillies are fortunate that Marsh isn’t expected to miss meaningful time on the injured list and remains tabbed to occupy left field.
The second-round selection from 2016 has logged 337 career games across three big-league seasons, debuting as a rookie with the Angels in ‘21. He’s since recorded 276 hits, 25 home runs, 131 RBIs and 107 walks, swiping 26 bases in 33 attempts.
Marsh, a native of Buford, Georgia, is scheduled to become a first-time arbitration candidate after this season and can enter free agency following the 2027 campaign.
Pitchers and catchers for the Phillies are due to report to spring training next Wednesday, with the first official full-squad workout scheduled for February 19th. The club’s Grapefruit League opener will be on the road in Dunedin, Fla., against the Toronto Blue Jays on February 24th.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.