The Philadelphia Phillies placed outfielder Cristian Pache on the injured list on Saturday due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. In a similar move, they recalled outfielder Dalton Guthrie from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Pache, 24, sustained the injury during Friday night’s game against the Houston Astros. Though expectations were low when the Phillies acquired him from the Oakland Athletics in the spring, he had turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises on the roster. In 18 games, he had hit .360/.360/.600 (161 OPS+) with a home run, three doubles and four runs batted in.
Pache’s improved percussion was partly due to a changed launch angle. While he’s previously posted marks in the single digits, so far this year he’s posted an average launch angle of 13.3 degrees. In addition, more than 35% of his batted balls were hit between 10 and 30 degrees; last season, by comparison, he only managed to hit 24% of his balls in that range.
The Phillies have not announced a timetable for Pache’s return. Precedent suggests he will miss some time. According to Baseball Prospectus’ injury recovery database, four position players suffered meniscus tears last season. They missed an average of six weeks, with five weeks being the median. However, Pache will require surgery, which will likely slow his recovery.
Pache is the latest notable Phillies player to be shelved. The Phillies are also without Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Ranger Suárez.
The 27-year old Guthrie made his big league-debut last season, batting .333/.500/.476 in 14 games. He hit .278/.380/.481 in 21 Triple-A games this year. Guthrie appears in a timeshare on the left next to a combination of Jake Cave and Josh Harrison.
The Phillies started Saturday with a 14-13 record, placing them four games back in the National League East to the Atlanta Braves.