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Which Former MLB Players Are Getting Ready To Play In The KBO?

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The Korea Baseball Organization is set to open its regular season on May 5, without fans in attendance, and is already in the midst of its second preseason training camp. There have been reported talks to bring KBO games to a North American audience, although at this point there’s no deal in place to allow MLB fans to tune in broad-reaching, accessible fashion.

Still, as baseball-starved fans hope for some ability to monitor those games, it seems worth a rundown of which former big leaguers will be suiting up in the KBO for fans around the world to follow — even if it’s in box scores and highlight clips only. Here’s a look at some names you might recognize in the 10-team league (with a hefty tip of the cap to the indispensable MyKBO.net and MyKBOstats.com)…

Doosan Bears (2019 record: 88-55-1)

  • Jose Miguel Fernandez, 1B/DH: The 32-year-old Fernandez was a notable signing out of Cuba by the Dodgers but never got a look with his original club. He latched on with the 2018 Angels and appeared in 36 games before heading to the KBO, where he posted a massive .344/.409/.483 slash even in a year that saw a leaguewide decrease in offense.
  • Raul Alcantara, RHP: Alcantara, 27, pitched with the Athletics in 2016-17. He notched a 4.01 ERA in 172 2/3 with the KT Wiz in Korea last season before inking a deal with the Bears this past winter.
  • Chris Flexen, RHP: Flexen struggled with the Mets from 2017-19 before signing up for his first overseas stint this past season. He had some success with the Mets’ Triple-A club and averaged a strikeout per inning at that level.

SK Wyverns (88-55-1)

  • Nick Kingham, RHP: The longtime Pirates top prospect never put it together in 131 2/3 big league innings, but he’s still just 28 years old. He’ll be an interesting name to monitor with regard to a future return.
  • Ricardo Pinto, RHP: The 26-year-old spent time with the Phillies, Rays and Giants organizations but struggled in limited MLB time.
  • Jamie Romak, 1B: The 33-year-old Romak only has 39 MLB plate appearances on his track record, but he’s become a consistent offensive force in the KBO, hitting .283/.376/.544 in three seasons with the Wyverns.

Kiwoom Heroes (86-57-1)

  • ByungHo Park, 1B: Park’s big free-agent deal with the Minnesota Twins didn’t pan out, but he’s posted an OPS north of 1.000 since returning to the Heroes two seasons ago.
  • Taylor Motter, INF/OF: The versatile 30-year-old didn’t hit much in 141 MLB games between the Rays, Mariners and Twins. He’ll hope for an overseas breakout in 2020.
  • Jake Brigham, RHP: Brigham, 32, only got a brief look with the 2015 Braves, but he’s entering his fourth KBO season — his second with the Heroes. In a total of 501 1/3 KBO innings, he’s posted a 3.72 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
  • Eric Jokisch, LHP: An encouraging 2014 stint with the Cubs (three runs in 14 1/3 innings) never led to another MLB look for Jokisch, who bounced around the Triple-A circuit before turning in an impressive 3.13 ERA and 141-to-39 K/BB ratio in 181 1/3 frames in last year’s KBO debut.

LG Twins (79-64-1)

  • Hyun-Soo Kim, OF: The former Oriole and Phillie returned to the KBO after a two-year MLB stint in 2016-17, signing a four-year, $10.7MM deal with LG. The “Hitting Machine,” as he was nicknamed in the KBO, posted an OPS north of 1.000 in his return and has largely picked up where he left off.
  • Casey Kelly, RHP: The one-time star Red Sox prospect is now 30 years old and fresh off a 2.55 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 180 1/3 innings in his first KBO season.
  • Tyler Wilson, RHP: Wilson, also 30, floundered through 145 innings with the Orioles before finding himself with the LG Twins, for whom he’s tossed 355 innings with a 2.99 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
  • Roberto Ramos, 1B: One of the few players on this list who never appeared in the Majors, the 25-year-old Ramos is a former Rockies prospect who signed on for his first season of Asian ball after hitting .309/.400/.580 in Triple-A last year.

NC Dinos (73-69-2)

  • Aaron Altherr, OF: One of the more recognizable names on the list, Altherr at times looked like a budding star with the Phillies. He fizzled out after some notable injuries, though, and is will make his KBO debut at 29 this year.
  • Mike Wright, RHP: Another former O’s hurler, Wright appeared in parts of five seasons with Baltimore. He had his share of success in Triple-A (3.76 ERA) but regularly struggled in the big leagues (6.00 ERA in 258 frames). He’s making his KBO debut this season as well.
  • Drew Rucinski, RHP: The 31-year-old saw time with the Angels, Twins and most recently the Marlins (2018). He returns to the Dinos after pitching 177 2/3 frames of 3.05 ERA ball in 2019 (6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9).

KT Wiz (71-71-2)

  • Odrisamer Despaigne, RHP: The 2020 season will be the first in the KBO for the 33-year-old Despaigne — a six-year MLB veteran who has tallied 363 innings in the big leagues.
  • Jae-Gyun Hwang, 3B: The (San Francisco) Giants signed Hwang back in 2017 but never gave him a long look despite a memorable home run in his MLB debut. He’s a productive regular in the KBO once again, having signed a four-year, $7.9MM deal with the Wiz prior to the 2018 season.
  • Mel Rojas Jr., OF: The 29-year-old Rojas never got a chance with the Pirates or Braves, and he’s now one of the KBO’s top hitters. In three seasons with the Wiz, Rojas has mashed at a .310/.377/.561 clip. He’s hit 30 homers in consecutive seasons.
  • William Cuevas, RHP: Cuevas, 29, got a cup of coffee with both the Red Sox and Tigers before jumping to the KBO and posting a 3.62 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 184 innings last year.

Kia Tigers (62-80-2)

  • Preston Tucker, OF: The former Astros prospect had a hot start with the ’18 Braves but faded quickly. He’s set for a second season with the Tigers after hitting .311/.381/.479 in last year’s debut effort.
  • Aaron Brooks, RHP: Brooks, 30 next week, pitched for the A’s, Royals and O’s between 2014-19 but struggled to a 6.49 ERA in 179 2/3 innings. He’s set for his KBO debut.
  • Drew Gagnon, RHP: A third-round pick of the Brewers in 2011, Gagnon saw MLB action with the Mets in 2018-19 but performed poorly. He had a bit 2019 season in Triple-A (2.33 ERA in 88 2/3 innings), which helped attract interest overseas.

Samsung Lions (60-83-1)

  • Seunghwan Oh, RHP: Oh enjoyed a quality four-year run with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies before undergoing elbow surgery last summer and heading back to the Lions, for whom he starred for nine seasons as one of the best relievers in league history (a tenure that earned him his incredible “Final Boss” nickname).
  • Tyler Saladino, INF: The former White Sox utilityman saw MLB time with the Brewers in 2018-19 and now heads to South Korea for the first time at 30 years of age.
  • David Buchanan, RHP: Buchanan hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a 2014-15 run with the Phillies. He’s spent the past three seasons with Japan’s Yakult Swallows, working to a 4.07 ERA in 433 innings — mostly working as a starter.
  • Ben Lively, RHP: A prospect of some note for a bit with the Phillies, Lively had a solid MLB debut in ’17 but never further established himself. He gave the Lions 57 innings of 3.95 ERA ball after signing midseason in 2019.

Hanwha Eagles (58-86)

  • Jared Hoying, OF: Hoying barely got a look with the Rangers in 2016-17, but he’s compiled a .296/.355/.519 slash in two seasons with the Eagles so far.
  • Warwick Saupold, RHP: The Aussie hurler managed a 4.98 ERA in three seasons with the Tigers before taking his 80-grade name to the KBO. In last year’s 192-inning debut, he logged a 3.51 ERA.
  • Chad Bell, LHP: Bell and Saupold were teammates with the Tigers. Both debuted in the KBO last year, and Bell’s 3.50 ERA is a near-identical match to his longtime teammate.

Lotte Giants (48-93-3)

  • Dan Straily, RHP: The most accomplished pitcher on this list, Straily racked up 495 1/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with the Reds and Marlins from 2016-18 before his production fell off a cliff in 2019. He’ll hope to rebound on a one-year, $1MM deal with the Giants.
  • Dae-ho Lee, 1B: The 37-year-old slugger came to the Majors for one season with the 2016 Mariners before returning to Korea on a four-year, $12.9MM contract that represented the largest deal in KBO history at the time. Lee’s bat faded in 2019, but he mashed 37 homers with a .987 OPS in 2018.
  • Adrian Sampson, RHP: The 31-year-old comes to the Giants for his own KBO debut with a solid Triple-A track record but an ugly 5.71 ERA in 153 MLB innings.
  • Dixon Machado, INF: Yet another former Tiger, Machado spent 2019 with the Cubs’ Triple-A club, where he hit .261/.371/.480 before agreeing to a deal with Lotte this winter.

Ben Lively Re-Signs With KBO’s Samsung Lions

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Righty Ben Lively will return to the Korea Baseball Organization for another run with the Samsung Lions, the team announced and Yonhap News reports. It’ll be a one-year deal that includes $700K in guaranteed money and $250K in potential incentive pay.

Lively has thrown 120 MLB frames, mostly with the Phillies, working to a 4.80 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. The former fourth-round pick spent time in 2019 with the Royals and Diamondbacks organizations before a mid-season move to South Korea.

The Lions obviously liked the work they received from Lively down the stretch. The 27-year-old threw 57 innings over nine starts, compiling a 58:13 K/BB ratio and posting a 3.95 ERA.

Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: KBO Pitcher Roundup

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It’s always fun to keep an eye on familiar players who’ve taken their talents across the pond. Now that the 2019 season is in the books, it seemed an opportune time to check in. Numerous former big leaguers are playing abroad, many of them thriving in Asia’s top leagues.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

We started by looking at position players in the Korea Baseball Organization, the top league in South Korea. Remember, teams in the KBO and other leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can employ. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, and often spurs mid-season change.

Now, we’ll check in on KBO’s hurlers. (Statistics courtesy of the always excellent MyKBO.)

  • The LG Twins made out like bandits with Tyler Wilson and Casey Kelly. The former, who once had a three-season run with the Orioles, spun 185 frames of 2.92 ERA ball in his second strong KBO effort. The latter, a former first-round pick and veteran of four MLB campaigns, was even more effective, with a 2.55 ERA in his 180 1/3 innings despite a less-than-impressive 126:41 K/BB ratio.
  • But neither of those hurlers took the foreign hurler ERA crown. That went to Josh Lindblom of the Doosan Bears, who has carved out a prominent career in Korea and was at his finest in 2019. Over 194 2/3 frames, he worked to a 2.50 ERA with 189 strikeouts against just 29 free passes. Doosan’s other out-of-town pitcher, Seth Frankoff (a one-appearance MLB veteran), spun 117 1/3 frames of 3.61 ERA ball.
  • Righty Angel Sanchez pitched great for the SK Wyverns in his second season with the club. The former Pirates hurler sported a 2.62 ERA in 165 innings. Teammate Henry Sosa, a former Astro turned KBO stalwart, threw 94 1/3 frames of 3.82 ERA ball. Another strong combination was formed by the Kiwoom (formerly Nexen) Heroes. Eric Jokisch posted a 3.13 ERA in thirty starts while Jake Brigham went for a 2.96 mark in 28 outings.
  • The Hanwha Eagles also got a nice 1-2 effort from a pair of former (Detroit) Tigers hurlers. Righty Warwick Saupold went for 192 1/3 innings of 3.51 ERA pitching, while southpaw Chad Bell notched a 3.50 ERA in his 177 1/3 frames of work. Another duo — Athletics alum Raul Alcantara and former Red Sox/Tigers hurler William Cuevas — was solid but unexceptional with the KT Wiz. The former worked to a 4.01 ERA while the latter checked in at 3.62 earned per nine.
  • The NC Dinos received strong output from right-hander Drew Rucinski, who was pitching his first season in the KBO after jumping around with several MLB organizations in recent years. He logged 177 1/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball. Eddie Butler lost his spot with the Dinos after 13 marginal outings, with the club replacing him with fellow former Rockies hurler Christian Friedrich. The new southpaw proved a better fit, working to a 2.75 ERA over 72 frames over a dozen starts after being plucked from the indy ball ranks.
  • The Samsung Lions parted ways with Justin Haley and Deck McGuire after watching them combine for forty starts with more than five earned per nine. Fellow righty Ben Lively was better after he came over, throwing 57 innings with a 3.95 ERA and 58 strikeouts.
  • The KIA Tigers struggled to get consistent results from their foreign hurlers. Former MLB righties Jacob Turner (5.46 ERA in 153 1/3 innings) and Joe Wieland (4.75 ERA in 165 innings) both disappointed.
  • Likewise, Jake Thompson failed to make good on his chance with the Lotte Giants, providing them 62 2/3 innings of 4.74 ERA ball before he was cut loose. Lotte received better work from Brooks Raley (181 innings, 3.88 ERA) and Brock Dykxhoorn (149 1/3 innings, 4.34 ERA).

Ben Lively To Sign With KBO’s Samsung Lions

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Right-hander Ben Lively has agreed to sign with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Naver Sports (h/t: Sung Min Kim of FanGraphs). He’ll take the roster spot of another former major league righty, Deck McGuire, whom the Lions will release.

Lively had been with the Diamondbacks, who acquired him from the Royals for cash considerations toward the end of June. As a member of those two teams’ Triple-A affiliates this season, the 27-year-old combined for 72 1/3 innings of 4.48 ERA pitching with 9.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.

Lively also tossed one inning with the Royals this year, but he’s best known for his time with the Phillies – who acquired him from the Reds for outfielder Marlon Byrd in December 2014. Lively worked his way to the majors in 2017 and proceeded to post a 4.81 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 112 1/3 innings between then and 2018.

McGuire, now 29, entered the pros as the 11th overall pick of the Blue Jays in 2010. Despite that lofty selection, he hasn’t had much success in the majors or at the Triple-A level with multiple organizations. McGuire also had trouble in the hitter-friendly KBO, where he logged a 5.05 ERA and notched 8.0 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 in 112 1/3 frames this season.

Diamondbacks Acquire Ben Lively

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The Diamondbacks have acquired right-hander Ben Lively from the Royals for cash considerations, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was among those to report. Lively will go to Triple-A Reno.

The Royals designated Lively for assignment Thursday after a rough major league showing this year in which he allowed three earned runs on three hits in a single inning of work. The 27-year-old worked to a 4.07 ERA/5.56 FIP with 8.79 K/9 and 4.07 BB/9 in 42 innings with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate this season before the club let him go.

Lively’s likely best known for his tenure with the Phillies, who acquired him from the Reds for outfielder Marlon Byrd in December 2014. Overall, he has pitched to a 4.80 ERA/5.03 FIP with 6.0 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 in 120 major league innings. He has logged a more impressive 3.12 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 308 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.

Royals Place Adalberto Mondesi On 10-Day IL, Designate Ben Lively

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The Royals announced a series of roster moves today. Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is headed to the 10-day injured list with a groin injury. His placement is backdated to the 19th.

To replace Mondesi on the active roster, the club selected the contract of infielder Humberto Arteaga. Righty Ben Lively was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

The Royals are going nowhere fast in 2019, and there doesn’t appear to be any long-term concern, so the loss of Mondesi should be only a temporary blip. The 23-year-old switch-hitter hasn’t been quite as good with the bat this year as last, but he has been close enough to league average at the plate and good enough in the field and on the bases to rack up 2.2 fWAR.

Lively was knocked around in his only MLB outing of the year. He carries a 4.07 ERA in 42 frames at Triple-A, with a 41:19 K/BB ratio. The 27-year-old as had his share of chances over the years but has not yet managed to hold down a steady big league job.

Royals Claim Ben Lively, Designate Eric Stout For Assignment

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The Royals have claimed right-hander Ben Lively off waivers from the Phillies, according to an announcement from both teams. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Royals have designated left-hander Eric Stout for assignment.

Lively, 26, will give the Royals yet another arm to evaluate as they stockpile potential rotation pieces for the 2019 season and beyond. The right-hander, originally acquired by the Phils in the 2014 trade that sent Marlon Byrd to the Reds, has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, so the Royals will be able to shuttle him back and forth between Omaha and the Majors next year — in the event that Lively survives the offseason on Kansas City’s 40-man roster.

It’s been a tough season for Lively, who has missed time with a shoulder injury. He’s been hit hard to the tune of a 6.85 ERA in a tiny sample of 23 2/3 Major League innings this season, though his Triple-A work — 2.42 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.52 HR/9, 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 52 innings — has been decidedly more encouraging. Lively ranked in the bottom half of the Phillies’ top 30 prospects in 2016-17, per Baseball America, drawing praise as a potential fifth starter at the big league level with average to fringe-average stuff across the board.

Lively has a 2.97 ERA in 266 2/3 career innings of Triple-A work, making him a more or less MLB-ready asset on which the Royals are taking a chance. He also turned in a 4.26 ERA with less-encouraging peripheral marks through 88 2/3 innings with the Phils last season. The move to the American League probably won’t help Lively much, though he’s going from a homer-friendly home setting, Citizens Bank Park, to a fairly cavernous one in Kauffman Stadium.

Stout, 25, was beat up for seven runs (six earned) in just 2 1/3 innings with the Royals earlier this season. Though he posted solid bottom-line numbers at Triple-A in 2017, his pedestrian K/BB numbers, low ground-ball rate and good fortune on homers allowed contributed to an FIP (4.24) and xFIP (5.26) that were markedly higher than last season’s 2.99 ERA. Through 55 Triple-A frames in 2018, he has indeed regressed, working to a 4.75 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 37.8 percent grounder rate. Lefties have posted a .725 OPS against Stout between the Majors and Minors this season, though to his credit, he held same-handed opponents to a putrid .193/.264/.301 slash with a 22.5 percent strikeout rate against a 7.5 percent walk rate in Omaha a year ago.

Phillies Activate Jerad Eickhoff, Designate Ben Lively

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The Phillies have activated right-hander Jerad Eickhoff from the 60-day disabled list and designated fellow righty Ben Lively for assignment, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets.

Eickhoff’s finally in line to pitch after going down in mid-March with a lat strain, an injury that was only supposed to shelve him for six to eight weeks. The 28-year-old ended up missing nearly six months, though, as he suffered multiple setbacks during his recovery and was even checked for thoracic outlet syndrome along the way. Fortunately, Eickhoff dodged that injury – often a catastrophic one for pitchers. He also pitched well in the minors during the rehab process, including at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he logged a 2.90 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 18 2/3 innings.

Prior to what has essentially been a lost 2018 for Eickhoff, he held his own at times with the Phillies from 2015-17, combining for a 3.87 ERA/4.10 FIP with 7.99 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 over 376 1/3 frames. Eickhoff started in all 65 appearances during that span, but he may work as a reliever upon his return. The Phillies’ rotation has been among the majors’ best, after all, as Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Vince Velazquez and Nick Pivetta have each done respectable to exemplary work over 20-plus starts apiece.

Lively, a Phillie since they acquired him from the Reds for outfielder Marlon Byrd in a 2014 trade, may be on his way to his third organization. The 26-year-old cracked the Phillies’ season-opening rotation and struggled across five starts before succumbing to a back injury, as he posted a 6.85 ERA/5.14 FIP and a 27.5 percent groundball rate over 23 2/3 innings. But Lively did log a solid strikeout rate (8.37 per nine), and he’s only a year removed from providing a passable 4.26 ERA/4.97 FIP in 15 starts and 88 2/3 innings with the Phillies. Plus, Lively has excelled at the Triple-A level this season, with a 2.42 ERA/3.21 FIP and 8.13 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 52 frames.

East Notes: Betts, Eaton, Phillies, Clippard

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Mookie Betts tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that nothing has changed on his end regarding a potential extension with the Red Sox, as the 25-year-old still has no intention of discussing a long-term deal during the season. Controlled for just two years beyond the current campaign, Betts’ increasing proximity to free agency and his continually elevated level of play have priced a theoretical extension out of bargain territory and into a massive financial undertaking, as Bradford examines. Certainly, that’s the case with any young star as he navigates through the arbitration process, but Betts already has one record arbitration payday in his back pocket, and he’s turning in the best season of his young career thus far. The $30MM annual rate that Jose Altuve secured on his recent extension with the Astros seems like an increasingly relevant comp, if not a baseline, Bradford posits in highlighting the difficulties that the Sox could face in locking up their brightest young star.

More from the game’s Eastern divisions…

  • Adam Eaton’s ankle injury doesn’t appear to be healing as well as the Nationals’ might’ve hoped, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports that Eaton is traveling to Wisconsin to be evaluated by a specialist. He’ll meet with orthopedic surgeon Robert Anderson, currently on the Green Bay Packers’ medical staff but also a renowned surgeon who has worked with high-profile athletes ranging from Steph Curry to Cam Newton to Derek Jeter. Eaton has been on the disabled list for nearly a month after suffering an ankle injury on a slide early in the 2018 season.
  • The Phillies announced tonight that they’ve activated right-hander Ben Lively from the 10-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 26-year-old Lively opened the season in Philadelphia’s rotation but struggled to a 6.85 ERA in 23 2/3 innings before landing on the disabled list with a back strain. In his absence, fellow righty Zach Eflin stepped into the rotation and has been outstanding in two starts, yielding a run on seven hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. He’ll remain in the rotation over Lively for now, and as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki noted yesterday, a continued hot streak from Eflin could force the Phils to make some tough decisions. GM Matt Klentak has already stated that Jerad Eickhoff will be in the rotation when he returns from the DL later this month, thus pitting Eflin against righties Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta for the final two rotation spots behind Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta. Of course, things can change quickly in the coming weeks, either with a downturn in Eflin’s performance or another injury elsewhere on the roster.
  • With Roberto Osuna on administrative leave and under league investigation, the Blue Jays turned to Tyler Clippard with their first save opportunity. Jays manager John Gibbons deployed setup men Seung Hwan Oh, John Axford and Ryan Tepera in the middle innings on Wednesday evening with his team trailing before handing the ninth inning over to Clippard, who worked a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts. While Wednesday’s sequence of events doesn’t necessarily anoint Clippard the closer during Osuna’s absence, it does at least suggest that he’s the early favorite for the role. Signed to a minor league deal this March, Clippard has given the Jays 19 1/3 innings of 1.40 ERA ball with 10.2 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9. He’s running up a staggeringly low 18.6 percent ground-ball rate, however, which could well be a portent for further homer troubles down the line. As a reminder for fantasy players, you can track ninth-inning situations throughout the game by following MLBTR’s @CloserNews account on Twitter and by utilizing Jason Martinez’s closer depth chart over at Roster Resource.

Phillies Place Ben Lively On 10-Day DL

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The Phillies have announced that righty Ben Lively will go on the 10-day DL with a lower back strain. It seems the issue arose in Lively’s most recent outing.

Fellow right-hander Jake Thompson will take his spot on the active roster for the time being, but Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Thompson will not move into Lively’s rotation spot.

At the moment, then, it’s not clear who’ll take the starting role while Lively is down. Zach Eflin is perhaps the top option that is currently on the 40-man roster, though Thompson and Drew Hutchison are both presently working as relievers despite histories as starters.

While the Phils will have to scramble a bit to fill in, the move comes as something of a reprieve for Lively. The 26-year-old has exhibited a year-over-year increase in his strikeout rate (from 5.3 per nine to 8.4 per nine) to this point, but it’s not backed by any improvement in his swinging-strike rate. Otherwise, things have gone backwards for Lively after a solid debut showing in 2017. He’s carrying a 6.85 ERA through 23 2/3 innings over five starts.

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