The Philadelphia Phillies have placed righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt on the 15-day disabled list due to lower back tightness. Oswalt has pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Phillies will use rookie righty Vance Worley in Oswalt’s spot in the rotation. Worley has pitched in 8 games (6 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He should do a solid job while Oswalt is on the mend. The Phillies have called up righty reliever Scott Mathieson to take over Oswalt’s spot on the roster and he will work out of the bullpen. Mathieson has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.

UPDATE: (6/26/2011) - Oswalt may be out until August as he has a mild bulging disk that he doesn’t want to injure anymore than it already is.

The Phillies have placed 39-year old righty reliever Jose Contreras on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 20th. Contreras has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with 5 saves, a 3.86 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 32-year lefty reliever Juan Perez from AAA to replace Contreras in the bullpen. Perez has pitched in 28 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 0-3 with 4 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has whiffed 41 batters while only giving up 23 hits in 30 2/3 innings in the minors, which shows what kind of stuff he has, but he has also walked 20 batters and that’s just too many. Perez last pitched in the majors in 2007 with the Pirates. He has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.

UPDATE: (8/23/2011) - Jose Contreras will miss the rest of the 2011 season as he needs right elbow surgery. The Phillies hope that he will be ready for spring training in 2012.

The Phillies have lost 25-year old righty starting pitcher Drew Naylor for the season as he underwent Tommy John Surgery last Tuesday. Naylor hasn’t pitched at all this year. He pitched in 27 games (26 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 12-10 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Naylor has pitched in 106 games (94 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 38-40 with 1 save, a 4.12 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. This is a bad break for Naylor who was getting closer to Philly before this major injury.

UPDATE: (9/17/2011) - The Phillies have designated Drew Naylor for assignment.

UPDATE: (9/26/2011) - The Phillies have released Drew Naylor.

The Phillies have placed 30-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton on the 15-day disabled list due to right elbow inflammation. Blanton has pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He has given up 45 hits in his first 34 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year as he hasn’t been missing many bats. The Phillies have called up 23-year old righty Vance Worley to replace Blanton in the starting rotation. Worley has pitched in 4 games (2 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. The Phillies think Worley will do another good job for them this time around.

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed 30-year old switch-hitting CF Shane Victorino on the 15-day disabled list due to a right hamstring strain. Victorino has played in 39 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 44 for 155 (.284 avg, .846 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 6 homers, 19 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Phillies have called up 23-year old lefty swinging Domonic Brown to replace Victorino on the active roster. Brown has played in 16 games in A+AAA-ball on his rehab assignment from a broken hand and he was 21 for 60 (.350 avg, 1.031 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers, 14 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Brown got his first taste of the majors for the Phillies last year when he played in 35 games in which he was 13 for 62 (.210 avg, .612 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He whiffed 24 times while only walking 5 times in his first chance in the majors as he was hacking at the plate. The Phillies need Brown to be better this time around because he’s going to get a lot of P.T. right away for them.

32-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley is off to a good start in A-ball for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is rehabbing a bum knee that caused him to miss a lot of time last year. He has played in 3 games for the Clearwater Threshers so far this year and he is 4 for 10 (.400 avg, 1.255 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. The Phillies are going to take their good ole sweet time with Utley as they have until the end of the month to activate him from the D.L. Utley has played in 1,006 games in his first 8 years with the Phillies and he is 1,095 for 3,735 (.293 avg, .894 OPS) with 677 runs scored, 177 homers, 650 RBIs and 96 stolen bases. The Phillies have been winning without Utley, but they are a much better all-around team with him. They can’t wait to get him back.

The Phillies have placed backup catcher Brian Schneider on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. Schneider has played in 16 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 9 for 52 (.173 avg, .545 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. The Phillies are going to activate starting catcher Carlos Ruiz from the D.L. for tonight’s game. Ruiz has played in 21 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 14 for 62 (.226 avg, .681 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Schneider’s injury buys more time for Dane Sardinha to get to stay in nice hotels while earning a good paycheck. He has played in 6 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .606 OPS) with 2 runs scored.

The Phillies have placed starting catcher Carlos Ruiz on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 28th due to lower back tightness. The Phillies got tired of waiting around for Ruiz to get better as he hasn’t played since April 27th. Ruiz has played in 21 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 14 for 62 (.226 avg, .681 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Brian Schneider will likely get most of the work while Ruiz is out of action. Schneider has played in 13 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 8 for 44 (.182 avg, .575 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Dane Sardinha will continue to back up Schneider until Ruiz is ready to return to action. Sardinha has played in 3 games so far this year for the Phillies and he is 1 for 7 (.143 avg, .476 OPS).

The Phillies have placed Roy Oswalt on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 27th due to lower back inflammation. Oswalt has pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 3-1 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 27-year old righty reliever Scott Mathieson to replace Oswalt on the pitching staff. Mathieson has already pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 4.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 11 games (8 starts) in his first two years with the Phillies and he is 1-4 with a 7.62 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. The Phillies will likely take their time with Oswalt and let him get fully healthy as either Vance Worley or Kyle Kendrick will replace him in the starting rotation until he is ready to return to action.

The Phillies have placed 30-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton on the 15-day disabled list due to a impingement of his right elbow. Blanton pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 5.92 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 23-year old righty starting pitcher Vance Worley to replace Blanton in the starting rotation. Worley pitched in 4 games (all starts) in AAA-ball earlier this year and he was 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He whiffed 25 batters while only walking six of them in 22 2/3 innings in the minors which shows how nasty he can be. Worley got his first taste of the majors last year when he pitched in 5 games (2 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Worley came into this season as the Phillies’ #11 ranked prospect, so they are expecting him to do a solid job while Blanton is out of action.