July 02, 2015
Everything's fine.
That's how starting pitcher Aaron Harang responded to a question from Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News about his health following Wednesday night's 9-5 loss to the Brewers.
For Harang, it was his worst start of the season and the eighth straight game in which he picked up the loss. But despite all those losses -- he has a 7.01 ERA during his current losing streak compared to a 1.82 ERA prior -- the 37-year-old said he was healthy.
As it turns out, that wasn't exactly true.
On Thursday, the Phillies announced that Harang is headed to the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. In a corresponding move, they activated Chad Billingsley, who will start the series finale against Milwaukee, off the DL.
#Phillies have placed RHP Aaron Harang on the 15-day DL with left foot plantar fasciitis and activated RHP Chad Billingsley from the DL.
— Phillies (@Phillies) July 2, 2015
This trip to the DL is another major blow to Harang's plummeting trade value.
The Phillies needed the righty, who has been their No. 2 starter behind Cole Hamels all season, to put to gather a few good starts prior to the July 31 trade deadline if they hoped to get any legitimate prospects in return for him. Instead, he'll be sidelined until after the all-star break, meaning he could make two or three starts before the deadline, starts that he'll need to make in order to prove to interested teams that he is healthy.
I wrote more about Harang's struggles following Wednesday's loss to the Brewers, and you can read that here.
Rich Hofmann is down at the park covering Thursday's game, so make sure to follow him for any updates.
