Philadelphia placed RHP Vicente Padilla on the disabled list after his start on May 29th. A sore elbow began bothering Padilla earlier in the month, and he removed himself from Saturday's start after five innings when the elbow became stiff. Unwilling to risk additional demands on the bullpen if Padilla should need to cut another start short, the club decided to send him to the DL to rest. The Phillies are blaming the soreness on elbow tendinitis and expect Padilla to be ready to return around the time the 26-year-old first is eligible to leave the disabled list on June 14th.

Due to Padilla's on-going elbow soreness, Philadelphia wanted to add an extra arm capable of providing several innings before Padilla's scheduled start on May 23rd. However, the Phillies did not want to add anyone to their 40-man roster, so RHP Elizardo Ramirez received a call-up, as he was deemed the best choice among rested, stretched-out pitchers on the roster and eligible for a call-up. Philadelphia signed Ramirez as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1999. After two years with the club's Dominican Summer League team, Ramirez spent 2002 with Philadelphia's Rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate. He advanced to A+ Clearwater in the Florida State League in 2003 and returned there this season. Prior to his major league promotion, the 21-year-old compiled a 33:8 K:BB with 55 H and 3 HR allowed in 59 IP for a 2.44 ERA over 9 starts at Clearwater in 2004. He clearly possesses excellent control, and his strikeout rate at least is solid.

I'm somewhat surprised with the Phillies' decision to leap him past both AA and AAA given similar skills in 2003 failed to inspire the organization to promote him even a single level, however their choices evidently were limited. Ramirez was not needed on the 23rd, but he remains with the club and has made three appearances out of the pen, compiling a 4:0 K:BB with 3 H allowed in 4 IP for a 2.25 ERA. Although I doubt he would pitch as effectively if he were asked to start in the majors without further preparation in the upper minors, the decreased demands of relieving appear to have compensated for his limited experience. He could be a regular member of the Phillies' rotation as soon as mid-season 2005 depending on how he fares at AA and/or AAA, and if he runs into difficulties as a starter, he should at least eventually receive an extended opportunity as a reliever.

In order to make room for Ramirez on the roster, Philadelphia demoted RHP Josh Hancock. Hancock joined the team on May 22nd in order to make a spot start for LHP Randy Wolf, who was sidelined with elbow tendinitis. He's now expected to reclaim the roster spot from Ramirez on June 3rd when the Phillies plan to call him up to take Padilla's place in the rotation. The 26-year-old possesses great control and deserves an extended major league tryout. I expect him to perform effectively, but since Philadelphia lacks an open rotation spot barring further injuries, Hancock likely will return to the minors once Padilla rejoins the team. Wolf took his turn in the rotation on May 28th and reported no further elbow problems.

The Phillies recalled RHP Geoff Geary to fill Padilla's roster spot. Geary spent three days on the roster earlier this month, taking the roster spot opened when Philadelphia placed RHP Brian Powell on the disabled list on May 19th and returning to the minors to make room for Hancock. Geary uncharacteristically has struggled with his control at AAA this year, compiling an 18:11 K:BB with 17 H and 1 HR allowed in 18.1 IP over 17 appearances at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League this season. If that problem follows the 27-year-old to the majors, I suspect the Phillies quickly will lose patience with him. Regardless of his performance, another injury probably would need to strike the bullpen in order for Geary to remain in the majors once LHP Billy Wagner is ready to come off the disabled list. Philadelphia is not likely to expand their pitching staff beyond eleven arms and all of their other relievers have secure jobs with the exception of the soon departing Ramirez. After some early setbacks, Wagner is now on track to return in about two weeks.

A stiff neck necessitated Powell's trip to the disabled list. He began a rehab assignment yesterday and should be ready to come off the DL sometime in the next week or two. However, unless the Phillies are unhappy with Geary, Powell likely will remain at AAA even after he comes of the disabled list.

RHP Roberto Hernandez returned from the disabled list on May 19th. He has not reported further problems with his calf since rejoining the team, but his May performance has not measured up to his strong April. Philadelphia sent RHP Jim Crowell back to AAA in order to clear a roster spot for Hernandez's return. The 30-year-old's performance during his short stint in the majors was not impressive, but continued success at AAA should earn Crowell another opportunity in September if not before then.