Bryson Stott: Elbow injury led to 'bad habits' at plate; knows what Phillies need from him

CLEARWATER, Fla.

Bryson Stott stepped to the plate Monday afternoon on a back field at the Carpenter Complex to see his first live pitching in 2025.

He connected in his first at-bat on a well-struck ball against Cristopher Sanchez.

That was nice.

But later in the session when he faced Matt Strahm, he took a big cut and whiffed.

Advertisement It felt great, Stott said.

Stott is not a masochist; no hitter likes to swing-and-miss.

But last season, it especially hurt because Stott played through some sort of nerve issue in his right elbow.

The pain was greatest whenever he hyperextended that arm on a flailing swing.

He suffered the injury in May, continued to play while batting fifth or sixth most of the time, and said he did not realize how compromised he was until the season ended.

The Phillies never disclosed Stotts injury last season; manager Rob Thomson alluded to it for the first time during the offseason at MLBs Winter Meetings.

Thomson, on Monday, said Stott had assured the clubs medical staff that the nerve issue was not affecting his swing.

Maybe its a convenient excuse after the fact for why the 27-year-old second baseman regressed at the plate.

Looking back, I wasnt healthy, Stott said.

I was good enough to play and Im not going to make excuses for that.

I want to play.

You never want to sit on the bench or anything.

At the time Stott suffered the injury, during an awkward swing in a mid-May series at Miami, the Phillies were already facing life without shortstop Trea Turner.

He injured his hamstring during the first week of May and did not return until June 17.

So, Stott was going to push it no matter what.

He said his right pinky went numb on a weird swing during a series against the Marlins.

Its whatever, Stott remembered thinking.

Then he swung and missed at another pitch sometime a week or so after that and the sensation lingered.

Hed have to call timeout more often.

He tried wearing the sleeve Bryce Harper used after he hyperextended his elbow, but the thing was too big.

(Hes a little buffer than I am, Stott said.) They stopped manufacturing new ones.

The Phillies believed Stott was doing enough on defense and on the bases to justify playing him even if he wasnt performing at the plate.

Advertisement As I kind of kept going and going, it got weaker and weaker, Stott said.

I was trying to compensate with different parts of my body.

It got me into some bad habits.

Thats the thing; Stotts season is not explained all by injury.

He entered 2024 intending to be more aggressive early in counts.

Only four hitters swung at fewer first-pitch strikes in 2023 than Stott did.

But he was adept at hitting when behind in the count, especially with two strikes.

That did not translate to 2024.

He swung at first-pitch strikes at a slightly higher rate still, only nine hitters had a lower rate than he did .

Teams knew they could slip hittable pitches past Stott early in counts.

His OPS dropped 76 points from 2023 to 2024.

He knows he needs to be aggressive, Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said.

Theyre attacking him.

Like, dude.

And nobody tells him to take.

Did he (adopt) a better strike zone and did he walk more? Yes.

So that was falling into place.

Now, he had them right where he wanted them.

They were attacking him, and he just wasnt swinging the bat enough.

The Phillies dont want Stott to be someone he isnt; they have plenty of hitters in the lineup who will attack the first pitch regardless of whether its a strike.

Stott can be less predictable.

He has a better idea of what type of hitter the Phillies need him to be in 2025.

Obviously, just the type of hitter I am, my powers to right field, Stott said.

I know that.

The league knows that.

They dont want to throw the ball in there, then I have to take my hits to left.

And Im OK with that.

Because I could steal second.

And I could steal third.

We have plenty of guys who are going to hit the homers.

My job is to be on when they do.

Stott did not hit the ball hard at a consistent rate in 2024.

He often hit the ball in the air to left field, which was a sign he was trying to drive pitches that werent thrown in a spot where he could drive them.

Long said the physical issues generated mechanical ones in Stotts swing that did not allow him to reach certain pitches.

Advertisement There is a better middle ground for Stott to achieve.

He can have plate discipline while being selective on which pitches he tries to pull.

It felt a lot last year I was 0-1, 0-2 in the blink of an eye rather than in 23, I would see a lot of pitches, but it would be in my counts Stott said.

Instead of trying to fight back to get to my counts.

Thomson said there were moments when the Phillies considered shutting down Stott.

The infielder said it was unclear how much rest would have helped the nerve issue.

Thats why he pushed to keep playing.

Thomson acknowledged the Phillies placed a certain level of trust in Stott to be open with them.

But the manager could see it.

Whenever you have that type of injury, as youre approaching the baseball and thinking about your finish, it just changes your swing a little bit, Thomson said.

You guard against swing-and-miss, so you decelerate.

A lot of things happen.

So I think now that hes healthy, hell get back to the same swing, get back to the same pitch selection, and hell be a much better hitter.

Stott rested his right elbow for a month after the season.

He did not swing.

He didnt even play golf.

He held his young daughter with his left arm.

Maybe it was nothing.

Maybe it explained a lot.

I wanted to play and just kind of go through it, Stott said.

It didnt work on the offensive side of the ball.

I still tried to put together long at-bats.

Its not like I had a limp right arm.

When I hit the ball, it was fine.

(Top photo of Bryson Stott: Heather Barry / Getty Images).

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