Half of Phillies Infield on the DL

Sucky news out of Philadelphia today: the Phillies just lost half of their starting infield to injury.

Second baseman Chase Utley and third baseman Placido Polanco have both landed on the 15-day disabled list, with a sprained right thumb and sore left elbow, respectively. They have both been sent back to Philly to get checked out and see exactly how long they'll be out of commission.

Utley jammed his thumb while trying to stretch a single into double during the fourth inning of his team's 7-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds Monday night, but remained in the game until the ninth inning, when he was replaced by a pinch hitter because his thumb was tender.

Polanco was hit by a pitch back in April and has been carrying around a bone spur in the left elbow ever since. After undergoing two injections to help it heal, he made it worse last Friday... while driving his car. Doh!

Now at the tail end of June, the team has seven players on the DL. They've called up infielder Brian Bocock and utilityman Greg Dobbs from the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs to replace Chutley and Polanco for the time being, but they might need a more permanent fix for this mess. Will they be looking at trade options before the July 31st deadline should these two be out for a substantial amount of time? It's likely. Sad, but likely.

[AP] | [The 700 Level] | [The Good Phight]