26-year old righty Drew Carpenter has been called up by the Phillies today to replace Ryan Madson in the bullpen. Carpenter has been converted to relief work this year and he has been outstanding so far in AAA. Carpenter has pitched in 24 games (1 start) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He has only given up 34 hits in 45 2/3 innings this year with 51 whiffs and only 9 walks. Carpenter has now pitched in 133 games (105 starts) in six years in the minors and he is 50-35 with 1 save, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has pitched in 5 games (1 start) in parts of three years with the Phillies and he is 1-1 with a 9.31 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP with them. I look for him to be much better for the Phillies this time around.

The Phillies have placed 30-year old righty reliever Ryan Madson on the 15-day disabled list due to a bruised hand, retroactive to June 19th. Madson has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 3-1 with 15 saves, a 2.03 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The Phillies will likely turn to lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo to close for them now. Madson is the 3rd closer to go down to injury this year for the Phillies with Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras currently on the D.L. The Phillies have called up Drew Carpenter to replace Madson in the bullpen.

32-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley started this season late due to a knee problem and when he returned to action, he still doesn’t look like the player he once was. Utley has played in 29 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 29 for 108 (.269 avg, .810 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers, 16 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 115 games last year for the Phillies and he was 117 for 425 (.275 avg, .832 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 16 homers, 65 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Those stats are coming from a player who averaged 110.6 runs scored, 29.2 homers, 101.4 RBIs and 13.4 stolen bases per season between 2005-2009. If Utley gets things going with the bat, the Phillies will really start to make distance between themselves and the Braves in the N.L. East.

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt on the 15-day disabled list due to lower back tightness. Oswalt has pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Phillies will use rookie righty Vance Worley in Oswalt’s spot in the rotation. Worley has pitched in 8 games (6 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He should do a solid job while Oswalt is on the mend. The Phillies have called up righty reliever Scott Mathieson to take over Oswalt’s spot on the roster and he will work out of the bullpen. Mathieson has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.

UPDATE: (6/26/2011) - Oswalt may be out until August as he has a mild bulging disk that he doesn’t want to injure anymore than it already is.

The Phillies have placed 39-year old righty reliever Jose Contreras on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 20th. Contreras has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with 5 saves, a 3.86 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 32-year lefty reliever Juan Perez from AAA to replace Contreras in the bullpen. Perez has pitched in 28 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 0-3 with 4 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has whiffed 41 batters while only giving up 23 hits in 30 2/3 innings in the minors, which shows what kind of stuff he has, but he has also walked 20 batters and that’s just too many. Perez last pitched in the majors in 2007 with the Pirates. He has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.

UPDATE: (8/23/2011) - Jose Contreras will miss the rest of the 2011 season as he needs right elbow surgery. The Phillies hope that he will be ready for spring training in 2012.