Phillies Activate Bruce, Option Haseley

In the wake of the season-ending injury to Andrew McCutchen and suspension of Odubel Herrera, the Phillies got a most-welcome spark to their offense in the acquisition of Jay Bruce.    Unfortunately for the Phillies, Bruce strained his oblique and was placed on the injured list July 17.  Bruce has finally returned to the Phillies.

The Phillies announced that Bruce was activated from the injured list.  A corresponding roster move was necessary. That means that center fielder Adam Haseley was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

It is somewhat of a hard luck move for Haseley, who has come on strong for the Phillies as of late.  After a somewhat slow start, Haseley was batting .286 in his last 15 games.  During that span Haseley has provided strong defense and has played much more.  The demotion was not earned, but one of necessity to keep their players.

The Phillies outfield group of Corey Dickerson, Bruce, Roman Quinn,and Bryce Harper cannot be optioned to the minors.  Scott Kingery is now entrenched at third base, while infield reserves Brad Miller and Sean Rodriguez similarly cannot be optioned to the minors either.

Therefore, the Phillies had to make the decision to stash Haseley at Triple-A for now.  Haseley is a good candidate to return when rosters expand to 28 in September.  Keeping everyone in the organization gives the team more depth and more options.

In 33 games for the Phillies, Bruce is batting .256 with 10 home runs and 29 runs batted in. Bruce's OPS is .837 in his time with the club.  Bruce will likely see a lot of action in left field while Dickerson moves to center field.  Dickerson has not played center field in two seasons.