Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Jeffrey Springs was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a left elbow flexor strain, the team announced Tuesday.

Springs' move to the IL was made retroactive to Saturday. In a corresponding move, the Rays recalled right-hander Taj Bradley from Triple-A Durham.

Sources confirmed to ESPN last Friday that Springs would miss at least two months, adding that the Rays had no real sense yet when he might be back. The return timetable was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Springs departed his start against the Red Sox on Thursday after three innings, and the organization's hope was that the elbow discomfort he felt was nothing more than an irritation. He was scheduled to undergo more evaluations and treatment.

Springs, 30, had emerged as one of baseball's best left-handers with the Rays, after hanging on the fringes of the big leagues for several years. He threw 13 scoreless innings in his first two starts this season and is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.