Zach Eflin’s physical problems continue to mount.
The Phillies rookie right-hander, already on the disabled list with tendinitis in his knees, was found to have a stress fracture in his right foot after having an MRI on Friday.
There was a chance that Eflin was done for the season even before this latest discovery.
Now?
“I would say that it’s unlikely that he will be back this year,” manager Pete Mackanin said Saturday afternoon. “But I can’t commit to that 100 percent. It doesn’t seem likely he’ll be back.”
Mackanin said the stress fracture was previously unnoticed, though Eflin had felt some discomfort in the foot for a couple of weeks and had been taking treatment for it.
“I don’t know what happened,” Eflin said. “It’s kind of a freak thing. I’ve felt it for a couple of weeks and pitched through it.”
Eflin isn’t ready to give up on the season yet. He will know more about his status when he gets the results of the examination of his knees. To refresh: Eflin admitted to feeling pain in his knees after his start Monday night in Los Angeles. He said he’d dealt with the issue off and on since he was about 12, but it had worsened recently. He was tagged for 22 hits and 20 runs over 13 innings in his last three starts.
Adam Morgan will come up from Triple A and take Eflin’s spot in the rotation on Sunday afternoon against Colorado right-hander Tyler Chatwood.
In other health matters, Jeremy Hellickson’s back condition is improving. He left Wednesday’s start after five innings with back stiffness. With the help of two off days in the schedule, the Phillies are able to push Hellickson’s next start to next Saturday against the Cardinals at home. That would give Hellickson nine days between starts. This is the tentative plan. The Phillies’ medical staff is continuing to monitor Hellickson.
“He seems to be improved and ready to go, but we’re going to double check (Sunday),” Mackanin said.
