The Phillies have placed starting CF Shane Victorino on the 15-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain. Victorino has played in 99 games for the Phillies this year and he is 101 of 404 (.250 avg, .749 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 15 homers, 53 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Phillies have recalled their top prospect, 23-year old lefty swinging outfielder Domonic Brown to replace Victorino on the active roster and in the starting lineup. Brown has played in 93 games in AA+AAA-ball this year and he was 112 of 343 (.327 avg, .980 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 20 homers, 68 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Brown has now played in 424 games in his five years in the minors and he is 472 of 1,593 (.296 avg, .836 OPS) with 265 runs scored, 48 homers, 232 RBIs and 89 stolen bases. The Phillies will get a good glimpse of the future starting tonight.

The Phillies have likely lost 47-year old lefty starting pitcher Jamie Moyer for the rest of the season due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and a strain of the pronator tendon. Moyer started 19 games for the Phillies this year and he was 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He pitched 5 years for the Phillies appearing in 123 games (118 starts) and he was 56-40 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Moyer’s career could be over and that would be a shame as he was still effective for the Phillies this season. He likely win finish his major league career with 267 wins.

The Phillies have placed starting 2B Chase Utley and starting 3B Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list. Utley has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. He has played in 72 games for the Phillies this season and he is 73 of 264 (.277 avg, .849 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 11 homers, 37 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Polanco has a sore left elbow. He has played in 62 games for the Phillies this year and he is 83 of 261 (.318 avg, .782 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Phillies have recalled 31-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Greg Dobbs and 25-year old righty swinging infielder Brian Bocock to replace Utley and Polanco on the active roster. Dobbs played in 42 games for the Phillies earlier this season and he was 10 of 66 (.152 avg, .465 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Dobbs is a better hitter than he showed earlier this season so look for him to step up somewhat for the Phillies. Bocock has played in 65 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 38 of 212 (.179 avg, .470 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Phillies are really going to miss Utley and Polanco.

UPDATE: Chase Utley had surgery to repair his thumb which will cause him to miss at least the next 8 weeks. Placido Polanco will avoid surgery but he will be out the next 3-4 weeks. With the Phillies behind both the Mets and Braves they will likely need to make a trade soon for infield help. I just don’t think you can replace Utley and Polanco with guys like Greg Dobbs, Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro.

The Phillies have placed 32-year old righty reliever Chad Durbin on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Durbin has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 0-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Durbin has pitched the best baseball of his major league career with the Phillies as he has worked in 159 games (0 starts) in his three years with them and he is 7-7 with 3 saves, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Phillies will miss Durbin while he is on the shelf.

The Phillies have placed starting catcher Carlos Ruiz on the 15-day disabled list with concussion like symptoms. Ruiz has played in 51 games this season for the Phillies and he is 42 of 153 (.275 avg, .764 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. 33-year old Brian Schneider and 31-year old Dane Sardinha will have to hold down the fort until Ruiz returns to action. Schneider will get most of the work. He has played in 17 games this season for the Phillies and he is 11 of 44 (.250 avg, .648 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Dane Sardinha played in 38 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 32 of 126 (.254 avg, .678 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 20 RBIs. But he has struggled mightily with a bat in his hands in the majors. He has played in 31 games in his major league career and he is 10 of 80 (.125 avg, .325 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 6 RBIs. The Phillies have activated starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins from the D.L. to replace Ruiz on the active roster. Rollins has played in 12 games for the Phillies this year and he is 14 of 41 (.341 avg, 1.096 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The offense will get a nice boost if Rollins can stay healthy this time around.