Phillies' Weston Wilson to miss six weeks with injury, scrambling bench battle

Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters Saturday that Weston Wilson is expected to miss six weeks with an oblique strain.

Weston Wilson has a moderate oblique strain. He will miss six weeks, taking him out of the running for a bench job. Buddy Kennedy’s odds improve. Hits right-handed. Could see time in OF this spring.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) February 22, 2025

As a right-handed bat with defensive versatility, Wilson was believed to have the inside track to an Opening Day role on the Phils' active roster. While outfield options Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh have historically struggled against left-handed pitching, Wilson sports a career 1.096 major league OPS against LHP. (That's in a small sample size of 60 plate appearances, but very promising.)

Weston Wilson just hit for the cycle lmao pic.twitter.com/5t5ZUWgCvM

— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) August 16, 2024

"Hopefully he's back in six weeks," said Thomson after the Phils' 7-6 loss to the Tigers. "It'll take a while. It's very sad for all of us, including him of course. Wes Wilson's a great guy. Everybody loves him."

Thomson asked Buddy Kennedy to play first base in place of Wilson on Saturday. 

"I said absolutely, I played it last year with [Tigers AAA affiliate] Toledo a little bit," Kennedy said. "See the ball, catch the ball."

The Phillies expect to utilize a four-man bench. Edmundo Sosa will occupy one bench spot, assuming he stays healthy. A backup catcher--Garrett Stubbs or Rafael Marchan, barring a surprise--will occupy another. Johan Rojas probably gets the third.

Now, with Wilson missing time, the final bench spot will be a battle among Kennedy, Kody Clemens, and Cal Stevenson. Of those three, only Kennedy bats right-handed.

The first home run of Spring Training goes to Buddy Kennedy! pic.twitter.com/B0eNxUUGMr

— UK Phillies (@UKPhillies) February 22, 2025

"Buddy comes into play a little bit more now," Thomson said. "If Sosa can play the outfield, maybe it's a left-handed bat. I think we've got some options still."