Phillies send Alec Asher, David Buchanan to minors

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - David Buchanan and Alec Asher - two pitchers who spent time last season in the starting rotation - were sent to minor-league camp on Tuesday morning and will begin the season at triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The move was not a surprise. Both pitchers appeared to be pushed out of the rotation this winter when the Phillies added veteran righthanders Charlie Morton and Jeremy Hellickson. Buchanan and Asher could transition to a relief role in the minors or fill out an IronPigs rotation with prospects Zach Eflin, Mark Appel, and Jake Thompson.

Buchanan, 26, made two Grapefruit League starts this spring. He allowed a pair of runs in four innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Asher, 24, allowed seven earned runs this spring over eight innings. He started on Monday against Baltimore, allowing four runs in three innings.

"All I know is I've done a lot of training to get myself in the right state of mind to do what I can do and control what I can control. So that's what I'm focused on now," Buchanan said. "I'm going to go down there, continue to pitch, continue to do what I've been working on and continuing to get better. As soon as the phone rings, I'll be ready to go."

Tuesday's lineup at Rays (Radio stream here)

1 Freddy Galvis SS
2 Cesar Hernandez 2B
3 Brock Stassi 1B
4 Darin Ruf DH
5 Cameron Rupp C
6 Tyler Goeddel LF
7 Peter Bourjos CF
8 Ryan Jackson 3B
9 Cedric Hunter RF

Pitchers

RHP Aaron Nola
RHP Dalier Hinojosa
RHP Andrew Bailey
RHP Yoervis Medina
LHP James Russell