DENVER — A few hours before game time on Friday afternoon, Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh wandered into the forest adjacent to the visitors’ bullpen at Coors Field. This was not by accident. Bullpen catcher Brad Flanders had told Marsh about a “sick waterfall” just past center field, and the Phillies outfielder was determined to find it.
Marsh is not the first visiting player to explore the Coors Field bullpen forest, and he certainly won’t be the last. He tries to find ways to break up the monotony of the season. Sometimes, that means getting in touch with the Earth.
“I’ve been trying to be more one with nature,” Marsh said. “Brad was like, ‘Have you ever seen the waterfall in the bullpen?’ And I was like, ‘No way.’ So during the second round of BP, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to go check it out.’ And I sat there and just enjoyed it for a good minute. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I like it.’
Marsh quickly told his teammates about the waterfall, and at least two of them — Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas — went on a quest through the forest on Saturday afternoon.
“Castellanos told me yesterday, ‘Hey, they have a river over there,’” Rojas said. “He said, ‘Let’s go tomorrow. I’ll be there before practice, to shower.’ I said, ‘No way, you sure?’ He said ‘Yeah.’
“It’s cool. I was there for a minute.”
Marsh plans to incorporate the waterfall into his pre-game routine the next time he’s at Coors Field.
“I collected a rock, but since we lost yesterday, I threw that away,” Marsh said, “so I have to go find another rock. It was pretty cool. I would’ve never known about the waterfall because you can’t see it from here.”
One thing is for certain: If Marsh, Castellanos, or Rojas hits a home run on Saturday, you better believe the whole 26-man roster will be in the forest the next day.
“It’s going to be a thing for me now,” Marsh said. “Every time we go to Colorado, the first day, I’m going to go say hey to my waterfall over there.”
Trea Turner progressing
Infielder Trea Turner (left hamstring strain) is continuing to progress in his rehab. Rob Thomson said that Turner did cage work inside on Saturday, took some ground balls, and did some higher-intensity running. It’s possible that Turner will run the bases in San Francisco, which would be the next box for him to check.
After that, Turner would take live batting practice, and then he would likely go on a rehab assignment.
Yunior Marte begins rehab assignment
Reliever Yunior Marte (right shoulder inflammation) began a rehab assignment with triple A Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Thomson said he is unsure of how rehab outings Marte will need, but emphasized that they want to be careful with him.
“We’ve got some time,” Thomson said. “We’ll make sure he’s good to go, check a lot of boxes.”
Marte pitched in a game against Rochester on Saturday afternoon, throwing one inning, allowing two hits and one run (unearned).
