The Phillies are rolling right now and starting to get healthier, too, which means more options for the lineup.
Darick Hall, after a lengthy recovery and rehab assignment from a thumb injury suffered in early April, was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Monday afternoon and moved back on to the 40-man roster. He'll still be kept in Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the time being, but to make room for him on the 40-man, Dalton Guthrie was designated for assignment.
Hall required surgery early into the season after he tore a ligament in his thumb sliding into second base, and at the time – with the Phillies off to a very shaky start in defense of the NL pennant – the expectation that he would miss about two months was a blow to the projected power within the lineup, especially since Rhys Hoskins was already out long-term with a torn ACL and Bryce Harper was still making his way back from Tommy John surgery.
It took a while, but the Phillies have been in a groove ever since the calendar turned to June, and Hall's availability will at the very least give them another infield/DH option to work with should they need it – or maybe he could even be a trade chip depending on how the next month and change plays out.
In 41 games and 142 plate appearances for the Phillies last season, the 27-year old Hall slashed .250/.282/.522 with nine home runs, eight doubles, and 16 runs batted in. He struck out a lot (44 times) but played a key role for a while in keeping the Phillies afloat through the middle of the summer while Harper was recovering from a broken thumb.
Through his rehab assignment, which will now transfer over into an extended stay up in Allentown, Hall is hitting .255 with two homers, three doubles, 10 runs batted in, and a .793 OPS across 13 games.
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