PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies promoted right-handed-hitting corner outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the team announced on Tuesday. Catcher Garrett Stubbs was placed on the injured list with inflammation in his left wrist.
De La Cruz was selected to the 40-man roster on July 5. The Phillies are scheduled to see two left-handed starters, Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer, over the next two games, but De La Cruz is not in Tuesday night’s lineup.
The 29-year-old De La Cruz batted .269 with an .806 OPS in 356 plate appearances with the IronPigs. He has five years of big-league experience, mostly with the Marlins, and has hit 58 career home runs with a .698 OPS.
The Phillies (56-45) could use a productive right-handed hitter on the roster, especially in the outfield. De La Cruz will now get an opportunity to contribute with just under two weeks until the trade deadline.
“I’d be lying if I say that I wasn’t up to date with what the team was doing here in the big-league level,” De La Cruz said through a team interpreter. “But my focus, it’s always going to be to focus on where I’m at. So down during the minors, that was my main focus, trying to perform and to try to help where I was. And now I’m here, and I’ll try to do the same.”
De La Cruz said he found out on Monday that he’d be heading to Philadelphia. When interim manager Don Mattingly spoke to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, De La Cruz had not yet officially been added to the roster. “We’re still working through it,” Mattingly said. Ultimately, Stubbs was placed on the IL in a move retroactive to Friday.
The third catcher/utility man is batting .179 in 32 plate appearances and has not been used much since rejoining the team from Triple-A in late April. He last played in a game on July 6.
— Ty Daubert contributed to this story.
