Justin Bour's Injury Comes at Worst Time for Phillies

This wasn't how the Phillies drew it up when they made a flurry of additions in late July and early August.

Justin Bour was placed on the 10-day DL Thursday with an oblique strain (see story).

Aaron Loup is on the DL with a forearm strain.

Wilson Ramos has been out since Sunday with a sore left wrist.

Bad news on Bour

The Bour injury will hurt. Hitters, on average, miss 27 days with oblique strains, according to a study conducted by former Dodgers trainer Stan Conte.

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While Bour doesn't think this oblique strain is as big a deal as the one that kept him out seven weeks last season, it seems highly unlikely he'll be ready in under three weeks. Which means he'd be looking at a return date of mid-September at the earliest.

Aside from missing Bour's bat, this injury hurts because it comes just days after the Cubs claimed Daniel Murphy. The Phillies were two spots ahead of the Cubs in the waiver order when Murphy was claimed. They let him pass through, likely because they had recently added another left-handed hitter with defensive limitations in Bour. Had they known Bour was about to hit the DL, they probably would have claimed Murphy. The Cubs ended up giving up next to nothing for him.

Ramos back this weekend?

Ramos thinks he'll be good to go by Friday in Toronto. It makes sense to ease him back in as a designated hitter. The Phillies called up catcher Andrew Knapp from Triple A to replace Bour on the active roster. 

It's a good sign that Ramos hasn't yet been placed on the DL. 

His bat was missed in Thursday's lineup against Max Scherzer, a pitcher against whom you need all the offense you can get. Jorge Alfaro entered Thursday's game 0 for 5 with five strikeouts against Scherzer, with four of those K's coming on three pitches.

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