Phillies send Darick Hall to triple-A Lehigh Valley to get him more at-bats

With Bryce Harper expected to rejoin the Phillies soon, and Kyle Schwarber back in left field on Tuesday night, there weren’t many opportunities for designated hitter/first baseman Darick Hall to get regular at-bats. So, the Phillies optioned Hall to triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled infielder Yairo Muñoz on Monday night.

Interim manager Rob Thomson sees it as a chance for Hall — who has only had four one at-bat since last Wednesday — to get more playing time.

“He needs to get his swing back or his timing back, get normal at-bats, get playing in the field, so that’s he’s available for us when we need him,” Thomson said.

» READ MORE: Phillies prospects update: Andrew Painter, Mick Abel working to pitch deeper in games

It’s possible that Hall could be added back to the Phillies’ active roster when rosters expand to 28 players on Sept. 1, which is an off day for the Phillies, but Thomson said they’ll still have to submit a roster that day. They can add either two position players or one pitcher and one position player.

Schwarber, who hadn’t started in left field since Aug. 11, will alternate with Nick Castellanos in the DH spot until Harper returns. Harper starts a rehab assignment in triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night and could rejoin the Phillies as soon as Monday in Arizona.

“We’ll probably go back and forth [at the DH spot] for a bit, so that limits Darick’s opportunity to get at-bats,” Thomson said. “The other thing [this move] does is it gives us a little more flexibility with another right-handed bat, bringing Muñoz in. He’s been playing all over the diamond at Lehigh. So, he’s playing right field tonight.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper put on a show in his first rehab outing. How many more does he really need?

“When he’s not playing, that gives us another right-handed potential pinch-hitter back on the bench. So a lot of times, we’ve gone with just left-handed bats on the bench and no right-handed hitter. ‘Muny’ just gives us a little more flexibility and it gets Darick playing time and at-bats.”

When center fielder Brandon Marsh exited a game against the Reds on Aug. 16, after trying to rob a home run and landing awkwardly on his left leg, he was concerned that his season might be over.

“What I felt — I’ve never experienced something like that before,” Marsh said of the injury. “Especially in the position I was. It was a little bit of shock. A little bit of being scared. And a lot of pain.”

Nevertheless, Marsh has been making progress. The recently acquired outfielder was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain on Aug. 18 (retroactive to Aug. 17), and says he is shooting to be back after those 10 days.

“It’s been an incredible five days,” he said. “Recovered a lot better than I ever thought it would. I’m super stoked, as to where I am in the recovery process, as to where my head was five days ago.”

Asked if he was optimistic about Marsh’s return, Thomson said: “Yeah, I am. If it’s not the day he can return, then it’s close after that. He hit in the cage yesterday and played catch and did some glove work, and probably the same thing today. He’ll stretch his arm out a little bit more and run a little bit more. Probably get some outfield fundamentals here in the next couple of days. He’s doing well.”