Eflin remains in the mix for a spot in the Phillies' Opening Day rotation with both Jerad Eickhoff (lat) and Mark Leiter (forearm) slated to begin the season on the disabled list, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
It looked like Eflin was destined to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the Phillies' signing of Jake Arrieta earlier this month, but the 23-year-old's fading roster hopes gained some life with the two injuries. With Arrieta, Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta on solid ground for rotation spots, it looks like the No. 5 role will come down to Eflin, Ben Lively and non-roster invitee Drew Hutchison. Eflin probably possesses more upside than either of his competitors, but he hasn't performed quite as well during Grapefruit League play, running up a 4.73 ERA over 13.1 innings in his four appearances.