Prior to today’s game, the Phillies placed third baseman Cody Asche on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain, retroactive to May 23, Senior Vice President and General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced.

To fill his spot on Philadelphia’s 25-man roster, right-hander Justin De Fratus was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Asche is hitting .258 with eight doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI in 40 games for the Phillies this season.  Since the beginning of May, the 23-year-old leads all National League third baseman with a .406 on-base percentage and ranks second in batting (.317) and third in slugging percentage (.550).  During the month, he has 19 hits, including five doubles and three home runs, along with 12 RBI in 60 at-bats.

De Fratus began the season with Philadelphia and had a 7.20 ERA in four appearances before being optioned to Lehigh Valley on April 13.  In 15 games with the IronPigs, he posted a 4.50 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 16.0 innings.  Since 2011, De Fratus has gone 4-3 with a 3.93 ERA and .237 average against in 80 games for the Phillies.

Our Take:  The Phillies should use this opportunity to promote promising third baseman Maikel Franco.  While Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said Sunday that the team was "kicking around" the idea of promoting Franco, the chose to add pitcher Justin De Fratus.

After a slow start, Franco is starting to heat up, and is batting .235 with four homers and 19 RBI over 44 games overall this season.

Franco, 21, is young, but the Phillies should take this opportunity to see what they have instead of playing utility man Cesar Hernandez everyday while Asche is hurt.  It's time for the Phillies to open their eyes and realize they simply aren't contenders this season and start the clock on the next chapter of Phillies baseball.

Many years ago, the Phillies turned to young guys like Utley, Howard and Hamels and they led the club to a World Series.  Now its time to start the clock on the next batch of future stars like Franco if they want to get back sooner than later.

More From 97.3 ESPN