Phillies still unsure if Cliff Lee will pitch this season

The Philadelphia Phillies are unsure if Cliff Lee will pitch this season as the four-time All-Star is still three to four weeks away from beginning a throwing program, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Wednesday.

Lee was put on the 60-day disabled list during spring training in an attempt to rehabilitate a torn common flexor tendon without having surgery, which was recommended. It's the third time that the left-hander has tried to recover from the injury without an operation.

"He's doing well," Amaro said Wednesday. "The best case was he'd be throwing right now, but he's not ready to do it. ... He's not going to be throwing for maybe another 3-4 weeks."

The 2008 Cy Young Award winner, who turns 37 on Aug. 30, is being paid $25 million in the final season of his $120 million, five-year contract.He is 143-91 with a 3.52 ERA in 13 seasons.

Lee will get another $12.5 million if the Phillies don't pick up his $27.6 million option for 2016.

"He's in great shape," Amaro said. "He's taking care of himself, but he's not really prepared to start throwing yet. So we'll see what happens over the next month or so.

"The throwing won't dictate or not whether he's going to be able to pitch for us this year or not. As everybody knows, his contract runs this year so we'll see. Probably in a little month or so, we'll know a little bit more."