The Phillies have placed closer Jose Contreras on the 15 day DL with a strained elbow. The move is retroactive to Friday. Contreras is of course only in the closer's role because Brad Lidge is currently on the DL. Over the weekend, Charlie Manuel used Ryan Madson and Antonio Bastardo to close games, which seemed like a sign that something could be wrong with Contreras.
↵Madson will now move into the closer's role, which depending on how he performs, is a job he could win permanently. The Phillies will call up Michael Stutes to fill the roster spot opened by Contreras.
↵Many Phillies fans wanted Stutes to make he big club after a great spring, but the Phillies elected to send him to AAA to continue to get regular work. As The Good Phight points out, he has been Lehigh Valley's best reliever this year with 14 strikeouts in ten innings of work. Check out their prospect profile for more on Stutes.
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