Beckett back on the DL with hip impingement

MILWAUKEE -- Josh Beckett was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday because of a left hip impingement that has resulted in a torn labrum and two cysts.

Beckett went on the DL on July 7 for a stretch of rest, but since his return, the discomfort has prevented him from making quality pitches.

The only cure for a torn labrum is season-ending surgery and a three-month rehab.

Speculation is that Beckett is likely done for the season and that he might be calling it a career. Although he is 34, it's a high-mileage 34, with 2,051 innings pitched. This is his third stint on the DL this season and 18th in a 14-year career.

Until the hip problem, Beckett was a Comeback of the Year candidate after missing most of last season with thoracic outlet syndrome, which required surgery to remove a rib. He threw a no-hitter on May 25, and through June his ERA was 2.02.

Manager Don Mattingly put the most optimistic spin on Beckett's injury, comparing it with a minor hip impingement that cost Clayton Kershaw one start in 2012.

"It sounds like Clayton's," Mattingly said. "He missed eight or 10 days, then he was good. I'm hoping that's the case. It's the same area. It makes a little bit of sense."

Mattingly hopes Beckett can resume throwing after 10 to 14 days off and called Beckett returning to pitch this season "possible."

The club reported that a new MRI also revealed a strained left groin. Hip impingements often send sharp pain into the groin area. When Beckett had an initial MRI before the All-Star break, he also received a cortisone injection. There was no word of another injection this time.

Beckett's latest setback triggered the acquisition of Roberto Hernandez, who took Beckett's Friday night start against the Brewers.