Before yesterday's game, Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf appeared to have strained his left oblique muscle during BP. This morning, Ruf underwent an MRI which showed that he has suffered a Grade 1/2 oblique strain.
A grade 1/2 strain is nothing to be much concerned about long-term as long as there is proper care and rest involved. A grade 1 strain occurs when there is damage to individual muscle fibres (less than 5% of fibres). This is a mild strain.
Ruf will miss 4-6 weeks as he deals with his injury. In 18 games, Ruf is hitting .217 with 2 HR and 7 RBI.
With this news as well as Freddy Galvis' diagnosis of MRSA earlier today, two spots have opened up on the roster for Opening Day.
A good guess is that Reid Brignac and Bobby Abreu will start the year on the Phillies' bench in place of Galvis and Ruf.
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
