The Philadelphia Phillies' biggest competition for the NL East this season has been the New York Mets. They're now a little weaker of an opposition after an injury to catcher Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez was starting to heat up, but now his sidelining might lead to them falling even further out of the division race.
Alvarez was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb and was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. It could require surgery, but the Mets will see if he can continue to play through it after a couple of weeks off and a subsequent rehab assignment, per MLB.