The Phillies have activated Shane Victorino off the DL and optioned John Mayberry to AAA to make room on the roster. Fans and media had been playing the guessing game as to who would go down when Shane came back up. Michael Martinez probably would have been the guy from a performance standpoint, but having been a rule 5 pick he would have had to offered back to the Washington Nationals. Plus he can play the infield or outfield There was also a possibility that Ross Gload could have been put on the DL.
However, the move was to send Mayberry to AAA, which given the fact that he still has options gives the Phillies the most flexibility.
The return of Victorino looks to give Charlie Manuel the best and most complete lineup he's had all year. With both Utley and Victorino back, the team should now have eight bonafide big league hitters starting on a regular basis. Utley is still working to get his swing back and of course whether Domonic Brown continues to progress like he has remains to be seen, but as the season wears on this lineup should hit.
Charlie told the Inquirer on Wednesday that he's not sure what his lineup will look like tonight.
"We'll just wait and see," he said. "We've been struggling offensively, and we still are. We want to be able to generate more offense and score more runs, and we will put the guys on the field who will be our best offense. I'm sure we're going to have to tinker with our lineup some, because we always do. There will be guys getting some rest, but at the same time, we'll get better when we get Victorino and [Chase] Utley back."