Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Adolis Garcia left their 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The club later revealed he suffered a pulled muscle in his right shoulder. The injury happened when Garcia threw home on a Kazuma Okamoto sacrifice fly.
After the game, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said they were “a little bit” concerned about Garcia’s shoulder. He’ll undergo imaging to determine the severity of the injury.
“You lose a defender like that, it changes things a little bit,” said Mattingly. “But everyone deals with stuff like that all the time. So somebody’s got to pick it up.”
Parsing through Mattingly’s comment, it sounds like Garcia could be headed for the injured list, and a roster move is incoming. The Phillies’ next game will be against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on June 12.
Adolis Garcia Leaves Blue Jays Game with Shoulder Injury
GettyTORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 10: Bryson Stott #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies helps Adolis García #53 after García was injured on the field during seventh inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Garcia signed a $10 million deal with the Phillies in the offseason. The idea was to get an impact defender and power hitter to lengthen their lineup. He’s gotten off to a horrific start at the plate, as he entered the game hitting .197 with a .604 OPS.
Garcia had been trending somewhat better of late in June. While he’s only hit .219 (7-for-32) for the month, he’s crushed three home runs and driven six. That has helped the Phillies average over five runs per game in June, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.
The Blue Jays generated a rally off Phillies reliever Chase Shugart, who lost the strike zone. Shugart allowed the first four hitters of the inning to reach, then gave up a sacrifice fly. That summoned Brad Keller out of the bullpen to clean up the mess.
Keller retired Kazuma Okamoto on a flyout to right field, leading to the play where Garcia pulled his shoulder. Steward Barroa ended up finishing the game as a defensive replacement. There’s no record of Garcia speaking to the media after the game, which might not be a good sign for his future availability.
Phillies Options to Replace Adolis Garcia
With uncertainty regarding the severity of the injury, the Phillies don’t have many options. They’ve experienced a handful of setbacks with all their right-handed-hitting outfielders this season. Otto Kemp and Felix Reyes haven’t hit well enough to stick.
Further complicating the situation is the latest development involving suspended outfielder Johan Rojas. Rojas tore the UCL in his right elbow and requires an internal brace procedure. The 25-year-old will miss the rest of the 2026 season. He had been serving an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Boldenone.
If Garcia requires a stint on the injured list, it exposes the lack of depth in the outfield. While Kemp or Reyes would be the immediate roster move, the Phillies may want to explore other options, given they haven’t hit this season.
The only other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Gabriel Rincones Jr., a left-handed hitter. Rincones just returned from a left knee injury and has played just 11 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
If the Phillies prefer a player not on the 40-man roster, they could turn to Bryan De La Cruz or Keaton Anthony. Adding either player would require clearing space, which could be difficult given the Rojas situation.
The likely tell for which player the Phillies will call up could be determined by which outfielder is pulled from the lineup in Triple-A.
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