'Very relieved': X-rays negative, Bohm eyes quick return

Phillies third baseman dislocates left ring finger on slide attempt

July 12th, 2022

ST. LOUIS -- The Phillies already planned to lose  for two days in Toronto.

Monday, they might have lost him for longer.

Bohm dislocated his left ring finger sliding headfirst into second base in the second inning of a 6-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, which dropped the Phils and Cards back into a tie for the third NL Wild Card spot. Bohm jammed his left hand sliding hard into the bag. When he looked up, his ring finger pointed toward his left pinky.

“It’s broken,” he told Phillies first-base coach Paco Figueroa at the time.

X-rays revealed it wasn’t.

There is a chance Bohm could play this weekend in Miami, but there is also a chance he could be placed on the 10-day injured list. If the latter happens, he could rejoin the team after the All-Star break.

“Very relieved,” Bohm said after finding out it wasn't broken. “One-hundred percent. When you look down and you see what I saw, your mind starts to think some pretty bad things, right? I’m very relieved. … It’s all about range of motion and that type of stuff and just dealing with pain. I think time will tell. There’s no way to really know for sure, but it’s definitely a best-case scenario given the circumstances.”

The Phillies popped Bohm’s finger back into place.

“They gave me the option of numbing it,” Bohm said. “’Yeah, absolutely numb it.’”

Bohm had the finger wrapped after the game, but he can still bend and move it since that's the best way to heal it. Bohm was not going to play in Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday anyway because he is not vaccinated for COVID-19, which is required before entry into Canada. He will fly to Miami on Tuesday with teammates J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson, each of whom is also not vaccinated.

The four will wait for the Phillies to arrive for the weekend series against the Marlins.

In Toronto, the Phillies will play Matt Vierling and Yairo Muñoz at third base. Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson initially thought Johan Camargo would rejoin the team from the IL on Wednesday, but Camargo told the Phillies he needed more time to recover from his strained right knee. Camargo could be back by the weekend.

The Phillies already have been playing without Bryce Harper (broken left thumb) and Jean Segura (broken right index finger). But now they will play without Bohm and Realmuto for a couple games, too.

Bohm is batting .355 (22-for-62) with two homers, eight RBIs and a .901 OPS in his last 17 games. He hit two homers in Friday’s 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. He hit a sacrifice fly in Saturday’s 1-0 victory.

“It’s a bummer, but hopefully I don’t miss too much time and I pick up right where I left off,” Bohm said.

The Phillies scored only seven runs in the four-game series in St. Louis, but Bohm’s three RBIs were enough to split the set.

It could be big later because the Phillies won the season series against the Cardinals, 4-3. Major League Baseball is using head-to-head records as the first tiebreaker if teams finish tied for a postseason spot. (There will be no Game 163, like seasons past.)

The Phillies also own the tiebreaker against the Brewers (4-2) and Padres (4-3).

“It’s just another season series against a really good club,” Bohm said. “I think a lot of really competitive games with these guys. They’ve got a good team. They’re down a couple guys, we’re down a couple guys. It’s some competitive games.”

The Phillies will be down four everyday players in Toronto, including Harper and Segura. They will have Realmuto back in Miami. They hope Bohm joins him.

“If anything good could come out of today, it’s the fact that he didn’t break his finger,” Realmuto said. “That was a pretty nasty, ugly play. He was obviously going to get a couple days off anyway, so hopefully he gets rested and is back sooner than later.”