Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff out 6-8 weeks with lat injury

Published Mar. 16, 2018 9:37 p.m. ET

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a strained lat muscle.

Eickhoff was 4-8 with a 4.71 ERA last season and spent time on the disabled list with back and hand injuries. He was slated to be part of Philadelphia's rotation.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Friday that Eickhoff got hurt during his previous outing against Pittsburgh on March 9. The Phillies signed 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta earlier in the week and general manager Matt Klentak said he plans to fill Eickhoff's void from within.

Zach Eflin, Ben Lively, Mark Leiter Jr. and Tom Eshelman are candidates to replace Eickhoff in the starting rotation.