Philadelphia Phillies News: Erik Kratz, Mike Adams, Steven Lerud

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed 32-year-old catcher Erik Kratz on the 15-day disabled list today after Kratz suffered a left knee injury during yesterday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kratz said he felt a “pop”, and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel didn’t seem too optimistic on the injury. It doesn’t sound like Kratz is going to be back any time soon, which is bad news for the Phillies. Solid backstop Carlos Ruiz is still out and won’t be back for another week, so Humberto Quintero will be starting for the Phillies at catcher. Hopefully Ruiz can come back without any issues, because the Phillies catching situation looks in bad shape for the time being.

In order to fortify depth at the position following Kratz’s knee injury, the Phillies have called up Steven Lerud from Triple-A Leigh Valley, and he’ll be Quintero’s backup presumably until Ruiz is back from his hamstring injury. Lerud has been playing at a decent level for Leigh Valley, so he isn’t a terrible option for the Phillies as a backup catcher, but it is certainly a less than ideal situation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News reports that veteran reliever Mike Adams might not be able to pitch until Tuesday, as he is feeling irritation in his right biceps. Adams could be out longer than that, but he is downplaying the severity of the injury. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told beat writer Matt Gelb that the Phillies “need him”, and the team certainly does need the stability that a healthy Adams provides to the bullpen in the late innings.