Phillies Notes | Garcia on DL with strain; club looks to farm for help

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Phillies placed Freddy Garcia on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a strained right shoulder.

Jose Mesa took his place on the roster, but there seems to be no obvious candidate to replace Garcia in the rotation.

The Phillies said relief pitchers Brett Myers and Ryan Madson, who have started in the past, are not candidates. That would leave a handful of minor-league pitchers that include J.D. Durbin (2-4, 5.13 ERA), Kyle Kendrick (4-7, 3.21), Zack Segovia (1-7, 4.79) and Matt Childers (4-1, 3.41).

Lefthander J.A. Happ (1-2, 4.09) would have been a candidate, but he is on the DL.

Garcia, who turned 31 today, is scheduled to see team physician Michael Ciccotti tomorrow in Philadelphia. The righthander said Friday that his shoulder had bothered him since the spring but proved especially bothersome in his last few starts. He opened the season on the DL with tendinitis in his right biceps.

The Phillies said in March that they did not consider Garcia to be damaged goods when they acquired him in December from the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. They reiterated that yesterday. Garcia went 17-9 with a 4.53 ERA for the Sox last season, 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last four starts.

"We saw this guy pitching very well in September, and we saw it more than once by more than one guy," assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. "I can't say we got damaged goods, because there was nothing in his entry physical that would have made us say there is a big problem here."

The Phils reviewed his health records. They did not order an MRI or physical exam before the deal, but Arbuckle said Garcia passed a physical before spring training.