Cliff Lee Injury: Phils' Ace Goes On DL With Oblique Strain

The Phillies announced today that they've placed Cliff Lee on the 15 day DL with left oblique strain. Joe Savery has been recalled to fill his place on the roster and Kyle Kendrick will make Lee's scheduled start on Monday. The move was made retroactive to April 19th, so he'll be eligible to come back on Friday, May 4th.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr was asked if there was a chance that Lee could miss more than two starts?

"I hope not," Amaro said. "But again, obliques you just don't know how long they're going to take. He's shown improvement. We're hopeful that he's only going to miss a couple of starts. We have an off day in between. If we can slide him in on the 15th or 16th day, that would be great"

Lee pitched a career high 10 shut out innings Wednesday night against the San Francisco Giants. Although he didn't really throw a ton of pitches in that game. Still, given that he's headed to the DL straight afterward, expect to hear at least a few people second guessing Charlie Manuel's decision to let Lee go 10. Feel free to remind those people that he did only throw 102 pitches...

With their two best offensive players already out and the rest of the bats ineffective, the Phils can ill afford for any of their aces to miss starts. Lee has generally been a workhorse in recent years so you wouldn't expect a lot of DL time for him, but anyway you slice it, two fewer Cliff Lee starts is not what the Phillies need now.