PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies rookie J.P. Crawford could be headed to the 10-day disabled with a strained right forearm.
He said he lost feeling near the elbow after making a relay throw to third base in the fifth inning Saturday night in a 4-1 loss to the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
"No ligament or any damage like that," Crawford said. "So that's good news. Hopefully just take it day by day and see how it feels [Sunday]."
But Crawford said he has been feeling something near the elbow for a couple days. He is scheduled to have a MRI exam Sunday.
"Hopefully not," Crawford said about a trip to the DL. "But that's not my decision. I'll find out more [Sunday]."
"I think it's possible," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.
If Crawford has had elbow problems for some time it might explain some of his issues in the field. He has committed five throwing errors in the first month of the season.
"Never had arm issues in pro ball," he said. "It's been bothering me now, but today after that relay throw it was a real concern."
Eickhoff takes another step
The Phillies lost a starter this week when they placed Ben Lively on the DL with a strained lower back, but they hope to gain another starter back within the month.
Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff threw live batting practice Saturday afternoon, another step forward in his recovery process. Eickhoff has been on the DL since the beginning of the season because of a strained right lat. The Phillies said Eickhoff could return before the end of May.
"He delivered a fastball with real velocity, which is really hard to do in the bullpen and that kind of setting with nothing on the line and nobody actually swinging the bats," Kapler said.
Scott Kingery stood in the batter's box during Eickhoff's two-inning session.
"He thought the ball, particularly in the second inning, was coming out really well," Kapler said. "The curveball had good shape. We saw a couple of changeups that had really good sell. I talked to Eick about those. He mentioned the most important thing was the arm speed and the sell. That was all there. Feeling really encouraged by what we saw today."
The Phillies have not named Lively's replacement for Tuesday's start in Miami. It is expected to be right-hander Andrew Hutchison or Triple-A right-hander Zach Eflin.