Philadelphia Phillies Jose Contreras to hit DL

Philadelphia Phillies veteran pitcher Jose Contreras will be placed on the disabled list with what was termed as soreness in his right elbow. It could be a major injury for Contreras, however, and he will undergo an MRI on Saturday to get a true picture of what is going on with his elbow. Soreness in that spot is bad news for every pitcher, but that is especially true for a pitcher like Contreras who has been pitching for a while.

The Phils will sign a reliever before today’s game, and it will be interesting to see who they replace him with in the interim. I hope Jose Contreras doesn’t have a major injury and has just a short DL stint, because a big enough injury could spell an earlier end to his career.

He is 40 years old and should retire at the end of the year, but it’s never fun to watch a player leave the game after a long time due to an injury. It’s better to watch someone to go out on their own terms.

Contreras is still a quality reliever and has been unlucky this season with his 5.27 ERA. His 2.66 FIP shows just how bad Contreras’s luck has been, as he has struck out 9.9 batters per nine and walked just two per nine. He usually sets down about 8.2 per nine and walks three per nine, so peripherals are not a problem for the veteran.

The Phillies lose an above-average reliever with this injury for at least 15 days, and we can only hope it doesn’t end up being worse.

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