Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed second baseman Chase Utley on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. Read more Chase Utley news

Before Chase Utley took a swing during batting practice in Miami and pain shot through his rib cage, Charlie Manuel advised Freddy Galvis to rehearse patience.

Hey all. How's everyone's night going? Pretty good? Maybe you curled up with your loved ones and are catching up on Arrested Development before the new season -- better hurry up, it's this Sunday! Ha ha ha...ahhh. Or maybe you fired up the ol' MLB TV to watch Kevin Gausman's first start for the Orioles. Kid's got some gas -- don't look now, because the O's could catch lightning in a bottle again! Ah, but wherever you are or whatever you're doing, I'm sure you're just having a heck of a night. It's that time of year and...what's that? A cricket is chirping, and the sun is setting. You hear some kids having just the best dang time in the yard next door, and you take a sip of your beer and smile. Things are just perfect. Oh no you don't! Not tonight, Mabel! You're in Phillies' season now, and there are no perfect things for the Phillies because Chase Utley is broken! This isn't a joke -- DEFCON whichever number is worst, people! Tell those idiot kids to shut up and switch from beer to bourbon, quick. You're going to need it. ...Okay, in all seriousness, this is ostensibly a mild thing! Yes, Chase is on the 15-Day DL, but since when is a really terrible injury prefaced by "very mild." And the Phillies expect him back in 2-4 weeks; I'm sure Frandsen and Galvis can hold down the fort. And at least they caught it early! Boy, that MRI could not have come at a better time, huh? Yeah...all things considered, this is a pretty okay thing. And if you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you. THE SKY IS FALLING; LOOT ALL THE STORES AND ABANDON YOUR LOVED ONES. EVERY PERSON FOR THEMSELVES.

It seemed a certainty Chase Utley would land on the disabled list this week. The Phillies confirmed this evening he would. They announced Utley, who felt a burning sensation on his right side when taking swings during batting practice Monday in Miami, will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with what they have called a “very mild” Grade 1 strained oblique. They said there is no intercostal or ribcage injury. He is eligible to be activated June 5. A replacement will be announced sometime before tomorrow’s series opener in Washington. Ruben Amaro Jr. said the typical recovery for this type of injury is two to four weeks. “We do believe and hope that Chase will be ready to play in Philadelphia within 15 days,” Amaro said in a statement. Potential replacements for Utley include Triple-A infielders Michael Martinez and Pete Orr. Lehigh Valley second baseman Cesar Hernandez is playing well, but is expected to stay with the IronPigs because he would be on the bench while Freddy Galvis becomes the everyday second baseman. First baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf could be a candidate, although playing time also would be an issue for him and the Phillies might prefer he continue playing every day in Triple-A. Utley received a MRI exam today. He expressed his concerns about the injury before last night’s 3-0 victory over the Marlins at Marlins Park. “It definitely scared me a little bit,” he said. “My first swing I took in BP, I felt something. My second swing, I felt it again. My third swing, I felt it again. After the fourth swing, I realized something wasn’t right. You want to be careful with these things, because they could linger and get worse if you try to play through it. I think we caught it early enough, but it’s hard to know until we have some imaging on it.” Utley has spoken with teammates and former teammates who have had similar injuries in the past. Several Phillies pitchers have spent time on the DL in recent seasons because of strained obliques, but so have position players like catcher Carlos Ruiz and former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth. Ruiz spent 23 days on the DL in 2009, while Werth spent 15 days. “The main thing they said was, ‘Don’t rush back,’” Utley said. “That’s when you can make it worse and prolong the time you’re out.” The Phillies certainly will miss Utley’s bat. He is hitting .272 with seven doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 44 games. He has an .814 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

(AP) Chase Utley felt a pain in his rib cage during BP a few days ago, and that pain will land him in the DL. Utley has been diagnosed with a very mild Grade 1 oblique strain. GM Ruben Amaro commented, saying “the recovery for this type of injury should take between 2-4 weeks. We do believe and hope that Chase will be ready to play in Philadelphia within 15 days. We are being cautious with this injury as it is a tricky one and want to make sure it isn’t an issue for him throughout the season.” The fact that it’s the strain is being called “very mild” is a good sign; but the fact that yet another player will hit the disabled list is not. Add him to the list of Halladay, Ruiz, Lannan, and Adams.

It might seem a bit early, but the MLB trade market will start developing soon, so imagine for a moment that you are the Phillies General Manager. Which players are you actively shopping at this year’s trade deadline? Are there any players in the organization that you would consider “unavailable” if another team came calling? Or are you waiting until a certain date, or a certain “games behind” point in the standings to determine your team’s fate? Alex Lee: Assuming the Phillies are still in the mix for a playoff spot, the obvious name to look at is Michael Young. While M.Y. has no doubt been solid for the Phils, he is replaceable between Kevin Frandsen and Freddy Galvis, especially if he can bring you a bullpen piece for the stretch run. If the Phils fade out of the playoff race come July, I would make everyone on the major league roster available except for Cole Hamels and Domonic Brown. Even if this team somehow makes the playoffs, this offense is putrid and needs a complete overhaul. Jon Nisula: I think that it would be in the Phillies best interest to get value for some of their best players at the trade deadline this year. I would shop Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, Michael Young, and anyone else that a contender might be looking for to fill the farm system with some good prospects. Pat Gallen: It’s hard to pinpoint just one name, but I’m probably shopping Jonathan Papelbon. He can get you a decent haul in return and while the team will likely have to eat a little bit of money on his deal, it shouldn’t be too much. Now, it’s all about finding the right match. Only a handful of teams are in a position to take on big money at the closer spot. Where would that be? Detroit? Could Pap go back to Boston? Would Texas bolster an already strong bullpen? It may not be easy to unload him, but if the Phillies can find a match, he’s the first guy you have to look to move. Don McGettigan: Regardless of where the Phillies are in the standings in July, I think it’s time to face the reality that this is not a World Series caliber team. Being that they likely can’t win a championship with this current roster, it’s easy to see that it’s time for a complete overhaul. So if I was the GM, I’d be on the phone yesterday letting teams know that any player in the last year of their deal (Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Michael Young, Delmon Young, and Laynce Nix) are readily available at this year’s trade deadline. And I would gauge the interest in anyone on the roster not named Cole Hamels. Trades my be tough for the Phillies to make though, as I don’t think any team would take on Ryan Howard’s salary, nor do I think that Jimmy Rollins would waive his 10-and-5 no-trade rights (a player with 10 years in Majors, the last 5 with his current team) for any teams other than select few in Southern California (specifically Oakland or San Francisco). Interesting names to follow this July are Jonathan Papelbon and Cliff Lee. Lee is potentially the top starting pitcher available, and Papelbon would likely be the best reliever on the market. The fact that both players are under contract past this season would likely make them more desirable than “rental” players, however, due to their high salaries the Phillies would likely have to eat a hefty portion of their contracts to make any deal work. The other thing to note is that even though a team would have these players for half-a-season less, it might serve the Phillies better to trade Lee and/or Papelbon in the offseason, when their trading partner might be more willing to send MLB-ready talent in return, as opposed to lower-level prospects at the deadline. If the Phillies are willing to swallow their pride, they might be able to turn this organization into a young, up-and-coming team again in the next few years, but that process needs to starts now.

After taking a week and a half off from looking at the draft it is time to look at what high school pitchers might be available in the 1st and 2nd round this year. Off the Board: Kohl Stewart – RHP – Texas Stewart might have the best raw stuff of any pitcher in the draft and has been climbing quickly up draft boards.  Stewart won’t fall out of the Top 10 but what the Astros do at #1 could affect where he will end up.  At that high a pick all of his signability concerns are irrelevent Trey Ball – LHP – Indiana A month ago there was a realistic chance that Ball could fall to 16 but he has shown a fastball that is 91-94 even in the cold wet whether and is now firmly in the Top 10 discussion.  He has some promise in the field do but at 6′ 6″ with great athleticism his future is on the mound. 1st Round: Ian Clarkin – LHP – California Clarkin has a plus fastball that sits 90-92 but can touch 94, he matches that with a curveball that already flashes plus.  The changeup shows at least average potential, but lacks consistency.  Clarkin is a bit small at 6′ 2″ which gives some scouts pause. Rob Kaminsky – LHP – New Jersey Kaminisky’s fastball sits 89-92 touching 94+ and he is the makings of an average changeup.  His curveball is a plus pitch now and could be the best in the draft.  The problem is Kaminisky is a filled out 5′ 11″, leaving little room for potential, scouts are also worried that he won’t be able to keep the ball down. Hunter Harvey – RHP – North Carolina Hunter’s fastball sits mostly in the low 90s but he has reportedly gotten it up to 97 this spring.  The changeup and curveball have potential but they are mainly flashes.  At 6′ 3″ 175lbs there is some room for projection that he could hold plus plus velocity as starter. Phil Bickford – RHP – California At this point Bickford is all fastball, but it might be a 70 grade pitch that consistently is up to 95-96, with room for enough projection that it could be an elite pitch.  The secondary pitches are lacking but the clean arm action and fastball give him plenty of potential. Hunter Green – LHP – Kentucky Green has been inconsistent this spring but when he is on he shows you a fastball that can touch 95 to go with a changeup and curveball that show plus potential.  There are some mechanical things to work on, but at 6′ 4″ 180lbs there is big potential here. Matt Krook – LHP – California Krook has been rising quickly up draft boards this spring.  He can bring a fastball that sits 90-92 touching 95 with good downward movement.  The curveball has at least plus potential and the changeup shows promise.  Krook is 6′ 4″ so there is plenty of potential there as well. Connor Jones – RHP – Virginia Given where he will go in the draft and his strong commitment to UVA, Jones may be the toughest sign of the first round.  His fastball has plus velocity but also really heavy downward movment.  The changeup and slider have potential but are works in progress. Devin Williams – RHP – Missouri Williams velocity jump this spring has some scouts higher on him then others.  The fastball can touch 95 and the changeup has good movement.  The breaking ball is inconsistent, as are his mechanics.  The big draw is that there is lot of filling out he can do which gives scouts plenty to dream on. 2nd Round Kyle Serrano – RHP – Tennessee Serrano offers less projection then other HS pitchers in the draft as the velocity is average sitting more 90-92 touching 94.  The changeup and curveball will flash plus, he will move quick because of his good feel for pitching.  He is committed to Tennessee where is father is the head coach, so it could be a tough sign. Dustin Driver – RHP – Washington An athletic pitcher out of the Pacific Northwest, Driver will bring a fastball that

Ladies (and gents) get your swooning couches ready: Cutesy Stutesy is coming back to Philadelphia. After the demotion of Phillippe Aumont to AAA, the Phillies made the corresponding move this afternoon and brought long lost summer fling Mike Stutes back to the major leagues. Stutes, you may remember, pitched 62 memorable innings in 2011, averaging a healthy strikeout rate (8.4 per nine innings), but a far less healthy walk rate (4.06 per 9) and home run rate (1.02 per 9). Still, despite some troubling peripherals, Stutes was generally a success, pitching to a 3.63 ERA over 57 appearances. Then, as with most things in 2012, the wheels came off of Stutes. Having earned the key to both the seventh inning and our hearts, the hunky bullpenner had a fairly rough 5.2 innings and then was shut down for the rest of the year after undergoing shoulder surgery. As the linked article above says, he was "erratic" in Spring Training (which, like, maybe he was just emotionally unstable, man), and he was sent down to AAA Lehigh Valley to gain some experience and confidence. He looked pretty good over 27 innings this year, keeping his K/9 at 8.33, while lowering his BB/9 (to 3.67) and HR/9 (to .33). Yes, it's a small sample, but hey, why not throw something at the wall, right? As for Aumont, the linked article says that Charlie still has faith in our mutual frere. And well he should: despite fairly middling results in terms of control, Aumont's stuff is not to be doubted. I think it's fairly safe to assume that we'll see him again this year, and with the proverbial chip on his shoulder! And so the bullpen worm turns. Still, while it remains to be seen if the 'pen got any better by dropping Aumont and adding Stutes, we do know one thing for sure: it definitely got better looking.

If you want to hear some Phillies talk and watch the Great Sports Debate, you have several chances starting tonight. Here are the days and times the latest show will air: TCN -Tonight at 7 p.m. -Friday at 11a.m.  CSN -Saturday at midnight -Sunday at 7 p.m.

Maybe this latest move will help straighten things out in the bullpen. It's worth a shot. The Phillies sent right-handed reliever Phillippe Aumont to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and called up fellow righty Mike Stutes. Stutes, who made his mark in the Phillies bullpen during the 2011 season, spent much of last season hurt and wound up needing surgery. He was fighting for a spot in the relief corps. during spring training, but didn't make the 25-man roster out of camp and instead, started the year in Triple-A. He has been stellar during the month of May. In those 10 outings (14 1/3 IP), Stutes has an ERA of only .063, having allowed just one earned run. Opponents are hitting only .157 against him. He's given up eight hits, three walks and have fanned 14. Stutes will be available to pitch Friday's game in Washington.  Aumont will be available for tonight's game at Coca-Cola Park. The Phillies' bullpen is tied for the second-highest ERA (4.63) in the National League. Their .269 batting average against is second worst and their 1.47 WHIP is the highest in the league. Stutes can't be a savior, but maybe he can get calm things down out there. The Phillies already had sent down Raul Valdes and called on B.J. Rosenberg for some help.