Phillies are ‘a little’ concerned about Zach Eflin’s back discomfort

Zach Eflin is unable to pitch Friday for the Phillies, becoming the second starting pitcher this week to be sidelined by a back issue.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi said he’s “a little” concerned about Eflin, who felt discomfort in his back Saturday while throwing extra pitches in the bullpen following his Grapefruit League start. Eflin was sidelined for two weeks in 2019 with back tightness and was slowed last year by back spasms during summer camp.

Eflin played catch Wednesday but will be replaced Friday by Ivan Nova against the Yankees. Girardi labeled him as “day to day.”

“I like that there was a ton of progress the last few days,” Girardi said after Wednesday’s 2-0 Grapefruit League win over the Tigers. “And that he was able to play catch today, that made me feel pretty good.”

Spencer Howard was scratched on Monday after feeling back spasms in the morning. Howard is still dealing with the spasms, Girardi said, and the team does not know when he’ll throw off a mound. Even before the spasms, Howard appeared unlikely to open the season in the starting rotation.

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Howard was pegged to start in either the bullpen or Allentown’s alternate site, both of which would allow the Phillies to manage his innings after last summer’s light workload.

But the team has high expectations for Eflin, who is slated to be the No. 3 starter behind Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Starting the season without Eflin in the rotation would be a blow. If both Howard and Eflin are not ready for the season, it would create a rotation opening for Vince Velasquez.

“We want to get ‘Ef’ on the mound as soon as we can,” Girardi said. “We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

Odubel Herrera’s home run Wednesday was not enough to earn him the starting job in center field, but it likely keeps him ahead of the pack as the Phillies begin to narrow their decision.

“I think the next two weeks, 10 days are really important,” Girardi said after the team’s 17th Grapefruit League game. “That’s how I’m sizing it up. Quality at-bats are going to be really important.”

Scott Kingery went 0-for-2 with a strikeout while Roman Quinn walked and had an infield single. The competition remains open.

“I’m just going to let it play out,” Girardi said. “There’s no rush to make the decision because they’re all getting at-bats and getting opportunities, so we’re going to let it play out.”

The Phillies have three candidates to close games -- Hector Neris, Archie Bradley, and Jose Alvarado -- and each pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday. Neris worked his slider into his arsenal, Bradley retired three batters on 10 pitches, and Alvarado continued to touch 100 mph. Girardi has some options.

“He’s got to be happy with all three of those guys,” catcher Jeff Mathis said. “You can point to any one of them to come in and get three outs. I’ve been impressed with the way all three of those guys have thrown the ball. It’s definitely a weapon to have all three of those guys to go to late in the ballgame.”

Shortstop Didi Gregorius did not not play Wednesday, a day after being removed from the game when he was hit in the head by a pitch. He will be re-examined Friday. ... Zack Wheeler pitched five scoreless innings and dedicated his start to fine-tuning his mechanics. All seems well. ... Thursday is the last scheduled off day of spring training. The Phillies will play five night games in the next week.