Phillies Skipper Says They Might Use Intriguing Starting Option in Rotation

With another one of the Philadelphia Phillies picking up a perceived injury, it sounds like their manager already knows who would be the next man up.

Oct 9, 2023; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies were able to take care of business in the finale against the Detroit Tigers that earned them another series victory.

After a little stretch where they saw their archrival Atlanta Braves make up some ground on them in the NL East race, the Phillies have won six out of their last 10 and look like a dominant team once again.

The reason for their success this season is that they have been able to pair elite starting pitching with an explosive offense, a recipe for any team to succeed in the sport of baseball.

However, even with Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez becoming NL Cy Young favorites, Aaron Nola having a bounce back year, and Cristopher Sanchez playing his way into a massive contract extension, there was still some uneasiness about Taijuan Walker's performances.

It got to the point where fans were begging manager Rob Thomson to make a move and return Spencer Turnbull to the starting rotation after he was shifted into the bullpen.

With Walker being placed on the injured list with finger inflammation, they were organically able to insert Turnbull into their fifth spot.

Unfortunately, the right-hander left Wednesday's game early with an arm issue.

Turnbull is trying to downplay the situation, telling reporters, "I just felt a little grab in the back of my tricep, shoulder, lat area ... Hopefully it's nothing serious but I wanted to tell them when I felt it. Didn't want to do anything to make it worse. Hopefully I'm fine. We'll get it looked at tomorrow but I think I'll be all right."

Anything injury related with the veteran is cause for concern at this point.

He missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was demoted to the minors in 2023 before hitting the 60-day IL with a neck issue.

That allowed Philadelphia to buy low on him this offseason, and he was able to showcase good stuff early on that kept him as part of the mix when Walker returned from his first injured list stint.

But, this latest setback could force him to miss some time.

If that's the case, it sounds like Thomson already knows who would step into his role.

"I think the leading candidate would be [Michael] Mercado if we had to do something. He's not that far away from his last start so he's still stretched out and I'm pretty confident in that," the skipper said per NBC Sports Philadelphia.

That shouldn't come as a surprise since his name was floated as someone the Phillies could turn to during the summer months anyway, expanding their rotation to put less innings on their stars before the playoffs arrive.

Michael Mercado has been tremendous this year at the Triple-A level, posting a 1.71 ERA across his 14 appearances and 10 starts.

He was called up for the first time on June 23 and made his Major League debut as a reliever, throwing a scoreless inning where he didn't allow a single hit and stuck out a batter.

The 25-year-old was taken in the second round by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 draft and was acquired by Philadelphia prior to this season.

Mercado currently ranks as the Phillies' No. 30 overall prospect.