Phillies’ Contreras Placed On DL

Added on Apr 26, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

The best team in baseball is down another closer. The Philadelphia Phillies are already waiting for All-Star reliever Brad Lidge to return from a bad rotator cuff. Now they must live without his replacement, Jose Contreras, after he was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right forearm.

The 39-year-old Contreras has filled in nicely in the stopper role. He has converted all five of his save opportunities and allowed zero runs in eight innings. The injury isn’t thought to be severe, however, he will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the damage.

There was media speculation that manager Charlie Manuel may have overused the aging right-hander, but Manuel was quick to dismiss those notions:

“I feel like, first of all, there’s no way in hell we overused Contreras. That’s how I feel. There’s no way. What did he pitch? The most [consecutive] games was three. Then he had a day off. He pitched five times in seven days. We weren’t trying to stay away from him. He was closing games. That’s how I look at it.”

For the record, Contreras has been a starter and middle reliever the majority of his career. He entered the 2011 season with only four career saves.

Ryan Madson has assumed the closer’s role in Contreras’ absence. In nine innings, he has two saves and a 1.00 ERA. The Phillies are currently in first place in the NL East and tied for the best record in the Majors at 15-7.

Source: ESPN.com