By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
After missing the final 31 games of last season and all of the 2018 campaign to date due to a strained right lat and a nerve issue in his right fingers, RHP Jerad Eickhoff will join the Philadelphia Phillies for the first time under rookie manager Gabe Kapler on Saturday, Sept. 1, as rosters expand from 25 to 40 for the final 28 games of the season.
While all 65 of Eickhoff's Major League appearances since August 2015 have come as a starter, the right-hander will be used in relief, "probably as a long man," Kapler told The Athletic's Matt Gelb.
Not only do #Phillies have to actually work out a trade for Jose Bautista, but they also would need to create a 40-man roster spot for him. They’re at 40, with Eickhoff and Florimon returning soon from 60-day DL.
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) August 27, 2018
Through five minor-league rehab outings since August 4 with the Clearwater Threshers and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Eickhoff went 0-1 with a 1.83 ERA, .149/.240/.299 opposing slash and 18 strikeouts spanning 19 2/3 innings and 76 batters faced. The right-hander surrendered three home runs and just four earned runs overall.
"I think, as a group, we're really going to be happy to have [Eickhoff] back. He's worked so hard and has overcame so much this year to put himself in this position, that we're going to do everything we can to find the right role for him that allows him to contribute to this team," Phillies Vice President and General Manager Matt Klentak told reporters. "That's what he wants to do, and that's what we want him to do. If it is out of the bullpen, that will be a new role for him and he may need to make some new adjustments to that."
"I think the important thing here is that we're getting back the player that we really like and who was worked his tail off. It should help us."
Eickhoff will make one final rehab appearance with the IronPigs before joining the Phillies on Saturday, according to The Morning Call's Tom Housenick. It appears the Phillies are opting, for now, to stick with their trio of young rotation arms in Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez.
