The Phillies have placed 33-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 19th due to a left oblique strain. Lee has started 3 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He has only given up 14 hits and 2 walks, while whiffing 18 batters in his first 23 innings this season. Lee will be replaced in the starting rotation by 27-year old righty Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He should do a solid job filling in for Cliff Lee. That being said, the Phillies hope that Lee is ready to return to action soon.

The Phillies have placed 24-year old righty reliever Justin DeFratus on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to a right elbow sprain. DeFratus pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The Phillies have high hopes for DeFratus, so they hope he gets well soon.

The Phillies have placed 33-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to deterioration of cartilage behind his left kneecap. Utley played in 103 games for the Phillies last year and he was 103 of 398 (.259 avg, .769 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 11 homers, 44 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,109 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,198 of 4,133 (.290 avg, .882 OPS) with 731 runs scored, 188 homers, 694 RBIs and 110 stolen bases. Rookie Freddy Galvis is going to get his big shot to start at 2B until Chase Utley is ready to return to action. It’s starting to look like Chase Utley’s best baseball is behind him already.

The Phillies have placed 32-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to an Achillies injury. Howard played in 152 games for the Phillies last year and he was 141 of 557 (.253 avg, .835 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 33 homers, 116 RBIs and 1 stolen base. In his first 8 years with the Phillies, Howard has played in 1,027 games in which he is 1,043 of 3,794 (.275 avg, .928 OPS) with 633 runs scored, 286 homers, 864 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Phillies are going to use a combination of Ty Wigginton, John Mayberry and Jim Thome at 1B until Howard returns sometime likely in late May or early June. The Phillies are really going to miss Howard’s bat early in the year.

29-year old switch-hitting infielder Michael Martinez is D.L. bound due to a foot injury that will cause him to miss the first 6-8 weeks of the 2012 baseball season. He played in 88 games for the Phillies last year and he was 41 of 209 (.196 avg, .540 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 3 homers, 24 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Phillies kept Martinez in the majors all year long as he was a Rule 5 Draft Pick in the winter of 2010. The Phillies are going to miss Martinez’ versatility in the field, but not his bat.

UPDATE: (4/4/2012) - The Phillies have placed Michael Martinez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th, due to a right foot fracture.