Reds Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day DL, Select Contract Of Cliff Pennington

The Reds announced a slew of moves Thursday in setting their Opening Day roster, including the placement of right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 60-day DL due to a left oblique strain. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Cliff Pennington, whose contract has been selected.

Additionally, the Reds placed left-hander Brandon Finnegan and righties David Hernandez, Michael Lorenzen and Kevin Shackelford on the 10-day disabled list. Meanwhile, closer Raisel Iglesias will open the year on the paternity list. The Reds have recalled lefty Cody Reed and righty Jackson Stephens from Triple-A.

The oblique issue is the latest in a long series of injuries that has kept DeSclafani off a big league mound since the 2016 season. An oblique issue in 2016 and a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in 2017 have combined to limit the talented young righty to just 123 1/3 innings since the beginning of the 2016 season. When healthy, of course, DeSclafani has looked every bit the part of a quality young long-term piece; in 308 innings with the Reds in 2015-16, DeSclafani worked to a 3.74 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over the life of 51 starts.

The 33-year-old Pennington spent the past two seasons with the Angels, where he batted a combined .232/.287/.320 through 405 plate appearances. Offense has never been a calling card for Pennington, a switch-hitter with a career .243/.310/.341 hitter through 3108 plate appearances, spanning 10 seasons. But, he’s a versatile defender capable of providing average or better glovework at shortstop, second base and third base, which makes him a nice utility option to have on hand — particularly for a Reds team that has yet to see Jose Peraza establish himself as a big leaguer.