Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will make his long-awaited return to the Reds’ rotation with a start on Tuesday against the Rockies, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. It’ll be DeSclafani’s first major league appearance since Sept. 28, 2016. Given that DeSclafani’s currently on the 60-day disabled list and the Reds’ 40-man roster is full, they’ll need to make a corresponding move prior to activating him.
Injuries have beset DeSclafani over the past couple years, as a sprained ulnar collateral ligament kept him out for all of 2017 before a left oblique strain shelved him for the first two months of this season. DeSclafani was a quality mid-rotation starter before then, combining for 308 innings of 3.74 ERA/3.79 FIP ball from 2015-16 – the ex-Marlin’s first two seasons as a Red. Although, DeSclafani’s injury troubles began in earnest in the latter of those years, when an oblique issue cost him two months and limited him to 123 1/3 frames.
Now, if the 28-year-old DeSclafani is able to revisit his old form upon his return, it would be a boon to a rebuilding Cincinnati club that has struggled mightily to develop starting pitching. The Reds’ DeSclafani-less rotation has logged a league-worst 5.59 ERA since last season, and bright spots have been hard to find this year – especially with 2017 breakout starter Luis Castillo amid a disappointing campaign. Among the rotation pieces the Reds have used this season, only Matt Harvey (4.44) and Tyler Mahle (4.38) have managed ERAs under five, but even they’re well below the National League average for starters (3.98).
Let us pray he can stay healthy