Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco had a series of injections to relieve pain and swelling caused by a bulging disc in his lower back on Thursday.
Polanco, out of the lineup since early this month, will be evaluated over the next few days. Injections such as these usually take a day or two to work, but they generally work quite well.
Phils pitcher Roy Oswalt, who has also been sidelined by a bulging disc, recently had a series of injections in his back and is now feeling much better as he works his way back to the teams starting rotation.
Oswalt threw in the bullpen Tuesday in Chicago and said he felt great.
There is also news on Joe Blanton. His injured right elbow has not gotten better during his rehab time in Florida and he is headed back to Philadelphia to be examined by team physician Michael Ciccotti. The Phils had hoped that rest and rehab would cure Blantons problems, but that has not worked. The next step for Blanton is unclear, but this most recent development is not good news.
In an effort to add some pitching depth in the upper minors, the Phils signed veteran right-hander Aaron Heilman to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple A Lehigh Valley. Heilman was recently released by Arizona after going 4-1 with a 6.88 ERA in 32 games. He is 35-46 over nine big-league seasons, mostly with the Mets.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com