The Phillies placed Jonathan Bowlan on the 15-day injured list Monday with a right groin strain and recalled Seth Johnson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his roster spot. Bowlan left Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks after two-thirds of an inning, and the move gives Philadelphia a fresh arm before the next turn through the bullpen.
Bowlan, acquired from the Royals this offseason in the Matt Strahm deal, allowed one inherited runner to score before striking out two batters to strand a pair. Manager Rob Thomson said Bowlan felt the strain after the outing and that it got worse when he tried to stretch it out, but the club expects him to be ready when the 15 days are up. He had a 3.86 ERA in seven bullpen innings this season.
Johnson is the immediate answer. He has pitched in six Triple-A games this year, posting a 3.00 ERA with two saves, and has 15 innings of major league experience across 2024 and 2025. Thomson said Johnson is throwing strikes and has improved his command, adding that the right-hander is powering the ball through the zone the way the club wanted. His fastball averaged 98.3 mph in Triple-A this season.
The injury move came as Thomson was also shuffling the lineup Monday, moving Adolis García to the No. 4 spot against Cubs right-hander Javier Assad and sliding Alec Bohm to No. 6. For Bowlan, the stint is short by design. For Johnson, it is a chance to show the Phillies the command gains they believe they are seeing in Lehigh Valley are real.
