Phillies place Bour on DL with oblique strain
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WASHINGTON -- Phillies fans champing at the bit for more Justin Bour can take a break for the foreseeable future.
The team announced Thursday morning that Bour has been placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained left oblique. Bour said he felt a "little bit of a grab" during his final plate appearance in Wednesday night's 8-7 loss to the Nationals. The Phillies also placed right-hander Edubray Ramos on the DL because of a blister on one of his right fingers. They recalled catcher Andrew Knapp and added left-hander Luis Avilán to the 25-man roster.
"It's one of those precautionary measures to go on the DL," Bour said. "Obviously, you need guys who can do their job 100 percent. I actually pulled my other oblique last year pretty bad, and this doesn't feel anything like that. I anticipate this being a quick recovery and being back as soon as possible."
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Bour missed seven weeks last season because of a strained right oblique. Perhaps he returns quickly, like he said, but strained obliques can be tricky. Come back too early, and he could miss the rest of the season.
A look back at Phillies hitters with oblique injuries over the years shows a wide range of recovery times:
• César Hernández (June 11-July 17, 2017)
• Cody Asche (April 2-June 2, '16)
• Darin Ruf (March 26-May 15, '14)
• Chase Utley (May 24-June 21, '13)
• Carlos Ruiz (April 11-May 2, '09)
• Jayson Werth (May 24-June 7, '08)
"It goes without saying that this isn't an ideal thing and not what I had hoped would happen," Bour said. "But the main focus is getting better as soon as I can and helping the team for a playoff push."
Bour is hitting .250 (5-for-20) with one double, one home run and two RBIs since joining the team in an Aug. 10 trade with the Marlins.
Avilan joins the team following Wednesday's trade with the White Sox.
"Obviously whenever you get the opportunity to play for a team that's in the playoff race you feel really happy because that team believes that you're going to help them reach the postseason," he said.