ATLANTA – Luis Arraez celebrated the Phillies’ NL Wild Card-clinching victory on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park with a boot wrapped in plastic on his left foot.
The boot protected his sprained left ankle, which he suffered Thursday. The plastic protected the boot from champagne and beer.
Arraez will not play in the NL Wild Card Series against the Braves, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said on Monday afternoon at Truist Park. He had not played since suffering the injury. He has not even swung a bat yet.
Triple-A Lehigh Valley utility player Otto Kemp will take Arraez’s place on the roster.
The Phillies officially announced their Wild Card Series roster on Tuesday morning:
Left-handers (5): José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jesús Luzardo, Tim Mayza and Cristopher Sánchez.
Right-handers (7): Jonathan Bowlan, Jhoan Duran, Alex McFarlane, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter, Chase Shugart and Zack Wheeler.
Catchers (3): Rafael Marchán, J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs.
Infielders (5): Alec Bohm, Otto Kemp, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott and Trea Turner.
Outfielders (5): Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Bryce Harper, Derek Hill and Brandon Marsh.
Designated Hitter (1): Kyle Schwarber.
The only news was that left-hander Tanner Banks is on the 26-man roster. Left-hander Brooks Raley is not. Dave Dombrowski acquired Raley before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. He went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in 16 appearances with the Phillies. Banks went 0-4 with a 6.19 ERA in 32 appearances. But after returning from a left forearm injury this month, he had a 2.45 ERA in four appearances.
Mattingly said they chose Banks because he can provide more length than Raley, whom he considers more of a one-inning guy. Still, Raley’s disappointing performance certainly factored in the decision.
Not having Raley is one thing. Not having Arraez is another, of course. He hit .278 with a .678 OPS since joining the Phillies, but he had provided stability in the cleanup spot since his arrival.
“We still get improvement every day, but not enough,” Mattingly said about Arraez. “He was going to try to hit today and just wasn't able to do it. So, we kind of crossed that bridge today.”
Asked Sunday if he could have hit in an emergency situation, Arraez shook his head no.
“I don’t want to be [a] hero,” he said.
The Phillies also carry three catchers on the roster: J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán. It speaks to the Phillies’ lack of depth in the system, in part because of injuries.
“We had a lot of guys hurt,” Mattingly said.
Mattingly said they considered outfielder Kameron Misner, but he broke a finger. They also discussed outfielder Steward Berroa, but he was coming back from a thumb injury.
“They had a lot of health issues down below, so that's kind of where it's taking us,” Mattingly said. “But the third catcher is not terrible for us, because our second or third catcher [Stubbs], however you look at it, is pretty versatile. We use him as a pinch-runner. We use him at first. We can play him at third. We can put him in the outfield. He is a guy that gives us a lot of versatility.”
Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan also will be on the Wild Card roster. He had been sidelined with a right calf strain.