CLEARWATER, Fla. — A day before the Phillies leave Florida and head to Atlanta, the team's opening day roster continues to come into focus.
On Monday morning, the Phils sent outfielder Roman Quinn, starting pitcher Zach Eflin and lefty reliever Zac Curtis to Triple A.
Later in the day, manager Gabe Kapler said that reliever Tommy Hunter would start the season on the DL with a "mild" hamstring strain.
With Quinn and Jesmuel Valentin, who was optioned out on Sunday, off to Triple A, the position player side of the roster appears set at 12.
With Hunter headed to the DL, the bullpen appears to be set as well.
Here are the 12 position players:
Catchers
Jorge Alfaro
Andrew Knapp
MLB
Infielders
Carlos Santana
Cesar Hernandez
Maikel Franco
J.P. Crawford
Outfielders
Odubel Herrera
Aaron Altherr
Nick Williams
Rhys Hoskins
Infielder/outfielders
Scott Kingery
Pedro Florimon
With 12 position players, the Phils are set to open with 13 pitchers. It looks like they will go with a four-man rotation until Jake Arrieta is activated on April 8. Arrieta could open on the disabled list to build arm strength or briefly be optioned to the minors. He will pitch in Clearwater on Tuesday and throw a simulated game in New York next week as he gears for his debut.
As of Monday morning, there were four locks in the rotation:
• Aaron Nola
• Nick Pivetta
• Vince Velasquez
• Ben Lively
The Phils will open with a nine-man bullpen. This appears to be it:
• Hector Neris
• Pat Neshek
• Luis Garcia
• Adam Morgan (LH)
• Hoby Milner (LH)
• Edubray Ramos
• Drew Hutchison
• Jake Thompson
• Victor Arano
• Tommy Hunter (DL)
Rupp released
A day after designating him for assignment, the Phillies released catcher Cameron Rupp. He is free to sign with any team. Rupp was due to make $2.05 million from the Phillies this season but his salary was non-guaranteed.