Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
UPDATE: Jim Salisbury updated the Twitter world with Ruben Amaro Jr.'s announcement:
Cliff Lee will go on DL, Amaro just announced. Phils hope just a 15 day thing. Elbow flexor strain
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) May 21, 2014
All fans are crossing their fingers that Lee will be able to return as soon as the 15-day stint is finished. Everyone, though, is relieved that it is nothing more serious than a strain, and that surgery isn't required. In his post, Salisbury also quoted Lee as saying:
“The game I pitched against Atlanta, after the game it was pretty sore and I said something to the trainers about it. We started doing some treatment on it and it acted like it was getting a little better. Then this past start (Sunday) I was feeling it the last couple innings on just about every throw and obviously it was pretty sore the next day. I tried to go and play catch [Monday] and it was there on every throw, so we decided to do the MRI and see what’s going on. We’re going to let it rest for a week and re-evaluate at that point and hopefully it will be gone.”
Names like Jeff Manship, Sean O'Sullivan, and Barry Enright could also be used to fill Lee's vacant rotation spot. And now, the original post…
Some potentially troubling news for the Phillies: Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports that Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee underwent an MRI today. No more info was available, but the fact that Lee had the procedure is a red flag.
Lee hasn't been on a disabled list since 2007, when he suffered a groin strain. Lee returned to the starting rotation and went 4-9 with a 5.38 ERA coming off that.
Lee's injury puts the Phillies' already depleted pitching depth in more trouble. With starter Jonathan Pettibone on the shelf, the obvious option to help the Phillies rotation would be David Buchanan. Buchanan is 5-1 with a 3.98 ERA in nine starts at AAA Lehigh Valley.
Salisbury tweeted about the procedure and updated with some information from Ruben Amaro Jr.
Cliff Lee had an MRI on left elbow today. Awaiting further details. Will update.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) May 20, 2014
Amaro said Lee had some discomfort in elbow last three weeks. Little more Sunday late in game. So decided on MRI. No results yet.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) May 20, 2014
As you can see from the chart above, courtesy baseballsavant.com, Lee's velocity on every one of his pitches has dropped in the last season. The concern over him $120 million arm is growing.
