Lively no longer appears to be in contention for the fifth spot in the Phillies' rotation after the team signed Jake Arrieta to a three-year, $75 million contract Sunday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
Lively had been competing with Zach Eflin, Mark Leiter, Jake Thompson and non-roster invitee Drew Hutchison for the No. 5 role, but the Phillies now appear set to proceed with a rotation of Aaron Nola, Arrieta, Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta and Jerad Eickhoff to open the season. Considering that Thompson and Leiter worked in long relief at times last season, both would seem to have a leg up on Lively for spots in the bullpen as well. That likely means that Lively will join the rotation at Triple-A Lehigh Valley when camp breaks.