In what qualifies as relatively good news considering they sent him for MRI exam, the Phillies have placed left-hander Cliff Lee on the disabled list with a flexor strain of his elbow.
Lee has been his usual fantastic self this season with a 3.18 ERA and 61/9 K/BB ratio in 68 innings, but Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that he’s been pitching through a flexor pronator strain for three weeks. During that time Lee has thrown 106, 100, 114, and 116 pitches and going back slightly further he tossed a season-high 128 pitches against the Braves on April 16.
For now the Phillies are saying they hope to potentially have Lee back when he’s first eligible to return in 15 days--general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. called the injury “pretty mild"--but obviously that’s far from a given at this point. Phillies fans can at least stop holding their collective breath for a while, though.
