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Darin Ruf removed from disabled list, sent to Lehigh Valley

Darin Ruf was officially removed from the disabled list Thursday, but you won't be seeing him at Citizens Bank Park when the team opens a three-game series Friday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Darin Ruf was officially removed from the disabled list Thursday, but you won't be seeing him at Citizens Bank Park when the team opens a three-game series Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. That's because Ruf, who strained his left oblique muscle in spring training, was assigned to triple-A Lehigh Valley.

"He just needs to get into a rhythm of some sort," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "Healthwise, he's fine. It's a matter of getting his reps. At the end of spring training, he wasn't swinging the bat that well even though he started out OK."

Ruf batted .217 in spring training with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs before suffering the oblique injury in late March during batting practice. He started a rehab assignment at single-A Clearwater last week and moved to Lehigh Valley earlier this week. In six games, he was hitting .227 (5-for-22) with no extra-base hits and three RBIs.

"My job is to bring guys up when they're ready to contribute at the major-league level," Amaro said. "When he's not ready to contribute immediately, that's not fair to us and that's not fair to him. When he is ready to contribute, we'll bring him."