After meeting with Phillies’ team physician Michael Ciccotti, it was determined that starting pitcher Joe Blanton will be placed on the 15-day disabled list to the start the season. Blanton suffered a mild oblique strain during a bullpen session on Wednesday that will need between three to six weeks to heal, Ciccotti said.

This will be the first time in his six-year career Blanton will need to go on the disabled list.

The news comes on the heels of a report on Wednesday that closer Brad Lidge received a cortisone shot in his right elbow on Tuesday, further setting back his recovery from two off-season surgeries. Lidge is also expected to start the season on the DL.

The injury to Blanton means that Kyle Kendrick will start the season in the rotation. Kendrick spent the Spring battling Jamie Moyer for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, and despite pitching some of the best baseball of his career (he allowed just four earned runs in 21.2 innings), lost out to the veteran left hander.

Should the Phillies suffer another injury to the starting rotation while Blanton is out, it is not entirely clear who they would call in to fill in. The team is thin on experienced starting pitching despite signing veteran righthander Josh Fogg on Wednesday to a minor league contract. Fogg is 62-69 with a 5.03 ERA in nine seasons with the White Sox, Pirates, Rockies and Reds.

According to Philadelphia Daily News Phillies beat writer David Murhphy, the top candidates in Triple-A Lehigh Valley would be lefthander Joe Savery and righthander Andrew Carpenter.

There are no clear good options should the need arise and Murphy believes that, considering the Phillies traded away Cliff Lee in the offseason, it is unlikely that they will make another deal to bring a pitcher in.

If the Phillies’ pitchers can stay healthy then this will all be a moot point, but as Murphy points out in his column today, that is always far from a sure thing. Not to mention that all injuries inevitably have what he calls a “trickle down effect.” Murphy goes on to explain that, “Losing Blanton from the rotation means losing Kendrick from the bullpen. Which leaves a hole and no obvious replacement.”

Only time will tell but with just four days until the season opener, the state of the Phillies’ pitching is certainly not where they would like it to be.

Photo courtesy of David Swanson / Philadelphia Inquirer Staff photographer