MIAMI — One of the Phillies’ most pleasant surprises of the early season has been sidelined. The team placed reliever Victor Arano on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain late Monday afternoon.
Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Arano had an MRI on Monday morning and it revealed a “mild” strain of the rotator cuff.
The Phillies activated pitcher Zach Eflin simply to flesh out their 25-man roster after Arano went on the DL. Eflin is still scheduled to start Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins. He is taking the place of injured Ben Lively. Earlier Monday, the Phils promoted lefty reliever Zac Curtis to take the roster spot that opened when Jake Thompson was sent to Triple A after Sunday’s game.
The addition of Curtis gives the Phillies two lefties in the bullpen; Adam Morgan is the other.
Arano, a 23-year-old rookie from Mexico, had allowed just five hits and one run over 12 innings in 10 appearances this season. He had struck out 13 and walked just three, two intentionally.
Arano came to the Phillies in an August 2014 trade that sent pitcher Roberto Hernandez to the Dodgers.
The Phillies now have five pitchers on the DL — Arano, Lively, Jerad Eickhoff, Pat Neshek and Mark Leiter Jr. Leiter threw to hitters on Monday. Eickhoff will throw to hitters Tuesday in Clearwater (see story). Neshek is expected to head to Clearwater on Friday. He is targeting a mid-May return.