Herrera goes on DL with left hamstring strain

August 19th, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Phillies will miss one of the hottest hitters in baseball a little while longer.
They announced shortly before Friday night's 10-2 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park that has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. The transaction is retroactive to Tuesday.
"I'm definitely surprised," Herrera said through the team's interpreter. "I thought it was going to be something quick. It is what it is and hopefully I'll recover sooner rather than later."
The Phillies announced after the game that Triple-A right-hander will be recalled Sunday and start that afternoon's series finale against the Giants. Right-hander Jr. will move to the bullpen.
Herrera, who has a 17-game hitting streak, is hitting .343 with 24 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 32 RBIs and a .967 OPS since June 1. He ranks 16th out of 151 qualified hitters in OPS in that span. He entered Friday with a 2.2 WAR since the All-Star break, according to FanGraphs. It was tied with and Charlie Blackmon for the best mark in baseball.
"To be honest with you, I think I could play, but I don't want to force it," Herrera said. "I think we should play it safe. We don't want me to go back on the field and then have something happen. I want to be 100 percent sure that I can go out there and perform the way I know I can."
The Phillies did not need to call up a position player to replace Herrera because they demoted right-hander on Wednesday and promoted utility player on Thursday.
If were healthy, he almost certainly would have been promoted, but Quinn remains sidelined with an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow in May. It is unclear if he will play before the end of the season.
"I made a comment to Larry [Bowa] yesterday in that ninth inning," Mackanin said about the Phillies having a runner on base in the 5-4 loss to the Giants. "I said this is where a guy like Roman Quinn is valuable."
Triple-A outfielder is on the 40-man roster, but he is hitting .100 (8-for-80) with one extra-base hit and 42 strikeouts since July 20.
Extra bases: Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez (right middle finger injury) is still waiting to see a specialist in St. Louis. ... Right-hander has been outrighted and accepted his assignment to Triple-A.