Philadelphia Phillies infielder Luis Arraez suffered a leg injury Thursday, exiting the game in the sixth inning of a tied game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Arraez smoked a ball up the middle in the sixth inning and sprinted down the line to try and beat a throw from shortstop Cooper Pratt. The throw went offline, pulling first baseman Jake Bauers off of the bag, and he swiped his arm to try to tag Arraez.
The batting champion tried dodging the tag, injuring himself in the process. Arraez stayed on the ground, with the trainer seemingly assessing his ankle. He exited the game immediately after the play, during which he was called out for going outside of the baseline.
The Phillies can't afford a serious injury to Arraez, as they are fighting for a postseason spot with just three games left in the regular season after Thursday. Heading into their game Thursday, the Phillies had a 2.5-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Wild Card Race, and are still at risk of losing their spot in October. Arraez's status for the postseason, should the Phillies make it, is also in jeopardy after his injury, as the severity of his ailment could keep him out of the lineup.
The Phillies acquired Arraez at the trade deadline from the San Francisco Giants, and while he hasn't performed at the same level he did during the first half of the season, he is still an extremely valuable player. Prior to the trade, Arraez had a .800 OPS, hitting four homers and driving in 43 runs with a .324 batting average. Since his move, though, his average dripped to .278 with a .678 OPS, though he is still driving in plenty of runs with two homers and 21 RBIs through 46 games.
Arraez is one of the best contact hitters in the game, and his defense has also taken a huge step forward this season. He has 13 outs above average, ranking in the top 2% of MLB after having never posted a positive rating over the course of a full season. The Phillies will hope their deadline day acquisition isn't out for an extended amount of time, as he will be key to their path through the postseason.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
