The Phillies announced this afternoon that Cole Hamels has been placed on the 15-day DL. Minutes later, the ground shook… Almost the entire Northeastern part of the US felt a rare earthquake centered in Virginia and the coverage of that more or less buried the Hamels news. More than one “earth shaking news” joke was made on twitter.
Hamels missed his last start with what the Phillies called shoulder inflammation, but an MRI revealed no structural damage. The team said at the time that they didn’t plan on putting him on the DL. Clearly, he must not have felt enough improvement to make his next start, so a DL trip just makes sense. Plus, given where the Phillies are in the standings, there’s just no rush.
Pete Orr has been recalled from AAA to take Hamels spot on the roster. It’s likely that Roy Oswalt will make Hamels’ next start and Kyle Kendrick will hop into the rotation after that..