Cole Hamels to Miss Next Start with Shoulder Inflammation

A few days after Cole Hamels reported experiencing “dead arm”, the Phillies have decided to skip the lefty’s next start.  Hamels underwent an MRI Monday that revealed inflammation in the back of his throwing shoulder, and Philadelphia thought it best to rest their top young arm.

The MRI was prompted by the 27 year old’s loss of velocity over his last several starts.  No structural damage was discovered, so Hamels will begin throwing today.  A Friday bullpen would be next on the schedule, and if all goes well he’ll be back on the mound as early as Monday.

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Hamels are all in the top 4 in innings pitched in the National League.  Still, the thought of employing a 6 man rotation to rest Philadelphia’s top arms doesn’t seem to be something that’s crossed GM Ruben Amaro Jr.’s mind.

"“We can’t take anything for granted,” Amaro said. “We’ve still got a lot of baseball left. Our goal is to still win the division. We’ve got to have these guys pitch. At this time, we’ll try to be cognizant of the workload they’ve had, because they’ve had a pretty significant one.”"

Hamels has been terrific this season for the Phils, posting an ERA of 2.62 and 0.99 WHIP over his 172 innings of work.

For more on the Phillies, be sure to check out That Balls Outta Here.