No clarity on rotation, Halladay's status

A day after Roy Halladay failed to finish two innings and revealed he had visited a doctor prior to his start, there was little clarity on the pitcher's status.

When asked what his rotation is following Monday's day off, pitching coach Rich Dubee said, "I don't know yet." The team's official game notes listed Cole Hamels as Tuesday's starter, Kyle Kendrick slotted for Wednesday and TBA on Thursday.

Tyler Cloyd's scheduled day is Wednesday, so the Phillies already made one shuffle by inserting Kendrick there. Cloyd could pitch Thursday, which is Halladay's next turn. Originally, while the Phillies were in contention and Halladay was healthy, skipping Cloyd was a likelihood.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was not available for comment, a team spokesman said.

Halladay indicated Saturday he had "spasms" behind his right shoulder that were examined Friday by a doctor. The 35-year-old pitcher termed the injury as mild.

He wants to finish the season by making his final two starts.

"I hope so," Halladay said Saturday. "See how things are [Sunday]. But like I said, they don't feel like it's anything that they're overly concerned about. It's probably poor timing more than anything. I don't think it's a major concern.

"My only concern is that I keep having things like this. I've got to come up with some programs — whether it's less throwing or different arm things or whatever it may be — where I can avoid these types of things. When you're young, you never have them. I need to find a way to adjust to that."

The Phillies will need a fifth starter only once more this season, Sept. 29 at Miami. If they decide to shut down Halladay, the top candidate to replace him would be B.J. Rosenberg. The righty threw a season-high 33 pitches Saturday. He made six starts at triple-A Lehigh Valley and said he would be comfortable stretching out if needed. The Phillies, he said, had not yet broached that possibility with him.

Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.