The Phillies have sent struggling reserve infielder J.P. Crawford to triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled Hector Neris from the IronPigs, the team announced Tuesday.
Crawford was activated from the disabled list Friday but didn’t play during the team’s series at San Diego. His demotion isn’t too surprising — with the acquisition of Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets, playing time at shortstop will be hard to come by.
Crawford spent seven weeks on the disabled list with a broken hand suffered June 19 against the Cardinals. He had limited at-bats during his rehab assignment at high-A Clearwater, and in the majors, he’s hitting just .