Utley and Howard Near Return

Second baseman Chase Utley is set to return for the Phillies after competing in a rehab outing with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Tuesday night. In the club's 10-2 win over Rochester, the five-time All-Star slapped a single and slammed a home run while striking out twice in five at bats.

Utley has been out of action until recently with chondromalacia in his left knee.

Prior to playing for Lehigh Valley, Utley posted a .159 batting average with one homer and five RBI in nine games with Class A Advanced Clearwater.

Ultey told media members on Tuesday that he thought his overall progress was not reflected in the statistical totals he tallied in his minor league rehab outings.

"I actually swung the bat a little bit better than the numbers showed down in Clearwater," Utley said.

The Phillies must make a move to add Utley to the active 25-man roster on Wednesday. The most likely candidate to make room would be utility man Michael Martinez, who is batting .133 in 16 games for the Phils this season.

Also, the Phillies announced Tuesday that injured first baseman Ryan Howard could begin a rehab assignment with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws on Thursday evening. Howard has been sidelined this entire season, as he recovers from left Achiles tendon surgery.

Howard, who has been rehabbing the ailment at the Phillies' spring training home in Clearwater, FL, is slated to return to Philadelphia on Wednesday for "functional testing" on his Achilles area. If those tests come back with positive results, the former National League Most Valuable Player will begin a rehab assignment with the BlueClaws on Thursday night.

During his rise through the Phils' developmental system, Howard played with Lakewood in 2002. He later rehabbed injuries at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park in 2007 and in 2010, with the team retiring his jersey number, 29, during his most recent appearance in the shore town.

For BlueClaws ticket information, call 732-901-7000 or visit BlueClaws.com.

___________________________________________

Utley image- Joe Wombough

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Anonymous said…

CHUTLEY!!

June 27, 2012 at 1:25 PM

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Catching prospect O'Hoppe tabbed to join Phillies

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page . For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature. Thank you. On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool. Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island. However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon. Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

Weekend Preview: Phillies at Yankees

The Phillies (22-17) head up to New York to take on the Yankees (24-17) in their new digs this weekend. It should be a fun Memorial Day weekend at the new Yankee Stadium. A record 75 homeruns have been hit at Yankee Stadium in the first 20 games there. The Phils haven't visited the Bronx since 2000. Read on for pitching match ups, game times, and plenty more notes. Friday, 7:05pm. Brett Myers (3-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. AJ Burnett (2-1, 5.02 ERA). Myers has had one career start against the Yankees. He won that game, in June 2006, by throwing 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11 and giving up just 2 earned runs. Myers is 3-0 on the road this season. Burnett has a 5-7 record in 16 career games against the Phils with a 4.57 ERA and 2 complete games. Burnett at home this season has no record in 4 starts, with a 4.15 ERA. Greg Dobbs is 4-for-6 in his career against Burnett with a double and 2 RBI. Matt Stairs is 2-for-8 off Burnett...both hits are homeruns . Saturday, 4:10pm. "Jay" Hap...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog