Philadelphia Phillies Injured Outfielder Begins His Rehab Assignment

The Philadelphia Phillies are off on Thursday, a much-needed break after playing 16 straight games that saw them go 5-11 during that stretch to put their record at 13-12.

There is real concern surrounding this team.

After getting out to a 7-2 start where they won three series in a row -- including one over the Los Angeles Dodgers -- they have only been victorious in one out of their last five sets, beating the Miami Marlins and splitting with the San Francisco Giants.

This is the perfect opportunity for the Phillies to regroup, something they need to do in a hurry now that they are traveling to face the red-hot Chicago Cubs before turning around and hosting the upstart Washington Nationals.

Philadelphia should have a reinforcement coming their way at some point.

Brandon Marsh has been sent on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley per the team's official announcement, and while he has struggled to start the year, there's no doubt he is an asset when it comes to matchups and his defensive ability in the field.

Marsh, who was placed on the injured list after tweaking his hamstring, has gotten off to the worst stretch of his tenure with the Phillies.

Given the everyday center fielder role coming into the season with the hope that he would become a star for the team, he has slashed just .095/.220/.167 with a homer, five RBI and no other extra-base hits in 17 games.

Manager Rob Thomson believes the young outfielder has been trying to do too much at the plate during the early going, so maybe this rehab assignment will not only allow his body to get right, but it also gets him back to doing what he previously did when he was putting up OPS+ figures above the league average of 100.