Thome Latest Phillie to Land on DL

Catcher Kratz called up to take roster spot

You can add yet another Phillies veteran to the already crowded disabled list.

On Wednesday, slugger Jim Thome joined Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee and others on the 15-day disabled list.

Per CSNPhilly’s Jim Salisbury:

The Phillies have placed pinch hitter/first baseman Jim Thome on the disabled list and recalled catcher Erik Kratz from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The move gives the Phils three catchers, but more importantly a full bench for Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies had played short on the bench for three games after Thome strained his lower back on Saturday night.

The Phillies posted the moves to their website around 10:45 Wednesday morning.

The move will likely be retroactive to Saturday when the 41-year-old left the Phillies 5-2 win with an apparent back injury.

It’s been a tough ride for Thome so far in his second stint with the Phillies he is batting just .111/.238/.111 in 18 at bats so far managing just two singles along the way. That’s not very good for a guy expected to bring some power to the table with Howard on the mend.

The time on the DL should allow Thome time to get his back better and also the ability to take more cuts while on a rehab assignment.

Kratz, 31, played two games for the Phightins after a late season call up last year. In 11 career major league games, Kratz is batting .150/.190/.175 with a double and an RBI.

Despite his unimpressive major league stats, Kratz has played well in Triple-A this season posting a .294/.333/.549 batting line with three homers, four doubles and nine RBI is 14 games.

Kratz should be in uniform when the Phillies take on the braves Wednesday night.

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