And if all goes well, Polanco said, returning for the series in St. Louis that begins July 19 is a realistic possibility.
"I feel pretty good," Polanco said.
After taking two cortisone shots in the left elbow in less than a month, the Phillies and Polanco decided he needed to stop playing through it.
Rest is also a way to avoid possible surgery, Polanco said. In order to comply with the two weeks of rest, he hasn't done any upper body work yet, His rehab has mostly consisted of running and constant icing and compression on the elbow.
"I don't want to rush it," Polanco said. "Before, I wasn't 100 percent. I just kept playing, playing, and playing."
Polanco is hitting .318 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 62 games this season.
When he returns, Polanco could play either second or third base depending on whether the Phillies make a trade for an infielder. On Tuesday, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Polanco offers the team flexibility.
Part of the reason the Phillies may wait on making a move on an infielder is because of Polanco's prognosis. Should he come back in two weeks, as he expects to, the Phillies could chose to simply stick with Polanco and Wilson Valdez in the infield and pursue pitching help instead.
"We have to assess what our needs are going to be two or three weeks for now," Amaro said.
Where's Baez?
In Tuesday's 11th-inning loss to Atlanta, Charlie Manuel used Rule 5 pick David Herndon and lefthander Mike Zagurski in a tie game while Danys Baez sat in the bullpen.
Baez, who signed a two-year, $5.25 million deal in the off-season, pitched two-thirds of an inning Wednesday night, just his second appearance in the last 10 games. He has a 4.60 ERA in 311/3 innings.
Manuel said he was most concerned about Baez's command. The righthander has walked 17 and struck out 16.
