The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-hander Zach Eflin on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right knee bruise.

The move, retroactive to Sunday, clears room on the 26-man roster for newly acquired outfielder Oscar Mercado.

Philadelphia is being cautious with Eflin, who had surgery to repair the patellar tendon in that knee in September.

Eflin, 28, is 3-5 with a 4.37 ERA through 13 starts this season, his seventh with the Phillies. He is 36-45 in his career with a 4.53 ERA in 120 games (115 starts).

The Phillies claimed Mercado off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.

Mercado, who was designated for assignment by Cleveland on June 21, batted .202 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 49 games this season with the Guardians.

Mercado, 27, can play all three outfield spots and is a career .235 hitter with 26 homers, 95 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 272 games with Cleveland since 2019.

–Field Level Media