CLEARWATER, Fla. — Though Cody Asche is still optimistic about being ready for opening day, the news on his injured oblique muscle was not good Thursday morning.
Asche, who has yet to play in the Grapefruit League, had an MRI on Wednesday and it continued to show the presence of a Grade 1 strain. Asche suffered the injury in workouts before games began.
“It’s nothing we didn’t expect, but now we know for sure,” Asche said Thursday morning. “It’s a day-to-day thing. We’re just taking precautions. I’ll go by how I feel.”
Asche has backed off from taking swings.
There are still 3½ weeks to go before opening day in Cincinnati and Asche believes he will be ready, but manager Pete Mackanin said there was no timetable for when Asche would be back on the field. That could certainly affect Asche’s preparation and the front office’s decision on whether to activate him or start him on the disabled list.
“I've had an oblique strain before and it's one of those things that it's hard to get rid of,” Mackanin said. “Rest is probably the best thing.”
Asche’s injury has come at a bad time. Not only does it affect the Phillies’ depth in the outfield, it has prevented Asche from making a run at a starting spot. Projected rightfielder Aaron Altherr is out four to six months so there’s an opening in the outfield (see story).
MLB
In other morning news out of Phillies' camp, the club reassigned top pitching prospects Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin and Mark Appel to minor-league camp. They project to be in the Triple A rotation and could be in Philadelphia later this season.