Zach Eflin takes first step in long road back to Phillies rotation

Don’t write off Zach Eflin yet.

There’s a long way to go before Eflin is ready — or even eligible — to pitch again for the Phillies. He has been sidelined since late June with patellofemoral pain in his right knee and can’t be reinstated from the 60-day injured list until Aug. 25, at the earliest.

But Eflin threw from a mound Friday in a bullpen session, with a simulated between-innings break. And after reporting initial soreness, he told the Phillies’ trainers Saturday that he felt better.

“It’s a good sign,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ll still in evaluation mode.”

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The Phillies don’t know for sure when (or if) Eflin will return. Knee problems have dogged him throughout his career. He had surgeries on both knees in 2016 and missed the second half of last season with a right knee injury that required a repair of the patellar tendon.

Eflin posted a 4.37 ERA through 13 starts before tweaking his knee while fielding a ball to the right of the mound on June 9 in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old right-hander made two more starts before going on the injured list June 28.

Given the uncertainty with Eflin, the Phillies acquired Noah Syndergaard this week in a deadline trade with the Los Angeles Angels. Syndergaard moved into Eflin’s spot in the rotation and allowed four runs on 11 hits in five innings Thursday night in a rain-shortened 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals.

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It’s premature for the Phillies to ponder how they would squeeze Eflin into the back half rotation that features Kyle Gibson, Ranger Suárez, and Syndergaard — or, for that matter, whether they will exercise their half of his $15 million mutual option for next season.

“There’s nothing wrong with having six starters going down the stretch,” Thomson said. “I hope that we get that. Not that we’d do that, but I’ve seen it done before.”

In his first Phillies start, newly acquired infielder Edmundo Sosa picked up his first hit and RBI with a two-out double to left field in the second inning Saturday night. He also picked a tough hop and nearly started a double play in the seventh inning, prompting Kyle Schwarber to applaud in left field.

With Suárez, a groundball pitcher, on the mound, Sosa started at third base, with Alec Bohm moving to designated hitter. Thomson said he was “excited” to get a look at Sosa.

“I’ve got to get him over to shortstop one of these days, too,” Thomson said. “He’s hailed as a high-end defender at shortstop.”

In trading for Sosa from the St. Louis Cardinals for lefty reliever JoJo Romero, the Phillies viewed him as an upgrade over utility infielder Johan Camargo, who got sent to triple A.

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The Phillies released outfielder Odúbel Herrera and reliever Jeurys Familia after designating them for assignment this week. ... Lefty reliever Ryan Sherriff, also designated for assignment, was outrighted to triple A. ... The Phillies will honor the 1980 World Series championship team in a pregame ceremony Sunday. Twenty-one former players are expected to attend, including Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Larry Bowa, Bob Boone, Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, and Pete Rose. ... Aaron Nola (7-8, 3.25 ERA) will start the series finale against Nationals right-hander Cory Abbott (0-0, 1.00).