Phillies send down 25-year-old infielder with .421 OPS

The Philadelphia Phillies (24-23) have improbably obtained a winning record by May 18 and now look every bit the National League contender they have been for the last few years. There is still much work to be done, however. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has to be proactive in how he chooses to upgrade the roster. The accomplished executive just made a minor transaction that he hopes will yield solid results.

Philly is recalling Otto Kemp and optioning fellow utility man Felix Reyes to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the team announced on Monday. The former belted eight home runs in 197 at-bats last season but was struggling mightily before being sent down (2-for-20 with no extra-base hits), while the latter is slashing just .158/.158/.263/.421 through 38 plate appearances.

Kemp will join the Phillies for their home series against the Cincinnati Reds (24-23) and do his best to stick around this time. Both Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are crushing the baseball, and Brandon Marsh boasts the fourth-best batting average in MLB (.329), but the lineup could still use some productivity at the bottom. If nothing else, Kemp should bring plenty of tenacity in his return stint with the club.

The undrafted talent out of Point Loma Nazarene University worked hard to earn his spot in the big leagues, and now he must do so again. Otto Kemp is batting .262 with three home runs, 21 RBIs, five doubles and a .792 OPS in 24 games for the IronPigs this season. He will try to make a good first impression on interim manager Don Mattingly.

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