Reds starter Nick Lodolo is headed for a second opinion after being diagnosed with another stress reaction in his left tibia, manager David Bell informed the club’s beat (including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). With less than six weeks remaining in the regular season, it seems possible his year is in jeopardy.
Left leg issues have hampered Lodolo since May. He was placed on the injured list with what the club initially called a calf strain. They later modified the diagnosis to a tibia stress reaction which kept him in a walking boot for upwards of six weeks. He was able to shed the boot by the start of July and begin ramping up with a goal of returning to an MLB mound by late August.
Lodolo had made three minor league rehab starts over the past two weeks. During a Triple-A appearance on Sunday, the issue flared back up. Even if Lodolo can work back from the injury without surgery, he’s obviously no longer in position to return from the injured list this month.
It’s subpar timing for the Reds, to say the least. Cincinnati is half a game back of the Giants and D-Backs for the NL’s final Wild Card spot. They’re in third place in the NL Central, four games behind the division-leading Brewers.
The biggest question is whether their rotation can hold up enough to keep their surprising postseason bid alive. Cincinnati welcomed Hunter Greene back from the 60-day IL over the weekend, but he was tattooed by the Blue Jays in his first start in two months. Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson, Graham Ashcraft and Brett Kennedy comprise the rest of the current rotation. Abbott has been excellent, while Ashcraft and Williamson have found their footing in the second half after rough starts. Yet Kennedy is a 29-year-old with 38 2/3 career big league innings, while a recent injury to Ben Lively has further thinned an already tenuous starting staff.
Lodolo had been hit hard in his first seven starts of the season, allowing a 6.29 ERA over 34 1/3 frames. The former #7 overall pick had a strong campaign when healthy a year ago, working to a 3.66 ERA while striking out just under 30% of opposing hitters in his first 19 MLB starts.
That’s an interesting take to have from an article about a setback from a leg injury to a rehabbing pitcher for the Reds.
Alcohol related psychosis. Explains why the simpleton character from Eastbound and Down is his role model. That’s his “shoot for the moon, if you miss you’ll still among the stars” goal.
That moron keeps claiming how the M’s should trade some pitching to the Cards but insist their pitching isn’t good or worth much.
giphy.com/gifs/news-lol-desantis-ron-52IbNAxOtuIXS…
No problems just thought it was a curious connection. Honestly every time I hear about Lodolo my first thought is that the Pirates would’ve been better off giving him their entire draft pool allotment when they picked him coming out of high school instead of signing the entire rest of their draft class that year. In terms of the subject of the article this is obviously bad for Lodolo and the Reds but believe both are going to be in good shape next year. For what it’s worth I think the Mariners will be fine too and if they trade away some pitching they should keep the young guys and try to move Robbie Ray or Marco Gonzalez.
Great job by the team to trade for a starting pitcher. We have Hunter Greene back too soon and his fastball is 2-3 mph slow and he got stomped. Now Lodolo won’t be back probably. Outlook not so good. Ugh.
In fairness nobody was expecting all of the upper minors infielders to breakout in this way and make the transition to MLB seamlessly. This probably isn’t the Reds’ year to be a playoff team but this group is leaps and bounds ahead of any reasonably expected outcome from where things stood back in April and its primarily due to contributions from rookies. That’s a huge win in the grand scheme of things. Enjoy it.
I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it. As a season ticket holder, I can expect more though. No one expected the team to be this good going into the year, BUT it was very evident that they needed to sign a veteran pitcher who could provide some innings and mentorship (and I mean more than just Luke Weaver). Kind of like how the Pirates signed Rich Hill. They only got Luke Weaver and had no depth. WAY too reliant on rookie/very young arms. They were in 1st at the deadline. Regardless of exceeding expectations, they should have done something to better this team.
@Cincyfan85
Well said.
MLB pitching injuries are chronic this year and injury setbacks common as well. An opportunity for Bennett, Lively, maybe Richardson or Phillips to show what they can do. Still a season of transition and sorting through players/ prospects for Reds that has gone much better than expected by anyone. Lodolo should be ready to go next spring.
I understand Reds fans’ and national media’s belief that staying put at the deadline and not going out and getting more pitching was a bad decision but keeping an entire core of position players together with a few more reinforcements on the way all on rookie contracts is a great problem to have. If Greene and Lodolo are able to get and stay healthy over the offseason and the front office makes relatively modest additions to the pitching staff in free agency the Reds will be the team to beat in the NL Central on paper next season.
@jimmyz – I agree the Reds are on a massive upswing and their future looks bright, but they need to do more than make a few “modest additions” to their pitching staff. They should sign at least one ‘Tier 2’ starting pitcher in free agency and then trade from their young IF surplus to add another good young pitcher to their team. They also need to beef up their bullpen as well. It will be an arms race in the NL Central as St Louis needs to add 3 starting pitchers this offseason and the Cubs will most likely need to replace both Stroman and Hendricks this offseason as well.
The Reds appear to be willing to give up India for the right package and they should consider moving at least one of their other young IFs for an established major league pitcher before they have some regression and lower their value. The tough question is, which one do they move?
Hey DM. I usually agree with your posts, but I have to disagree on the starting pitching. The Reds are blessed with a plethora of starting pitching to begin 2024. IMHO there is not a better young pitching rotation in all of baseball.
Greene
Lodolo (prob. the ace once healthy)
Abbott
Ashcraft
Williamson
Lively (#6)
Kennedy
Phillips (AAA)
Richardson (AAA)
Stoudt (AAA)
The Reds will be able to go ten deep in their rotation by midseason next year. I’m not replacing any of the starting five with an off-season acquisition. Let the kids pitch. And the cost of adding starting pitching at this year’s deadline, even for rentals, was so ridiculous that many bigger market teams passed on adding much need starting pitching. The injury riddled Reds wisely added just one club controlled lefty reliever on 8/1.
Yes, I agree that they do need another arm or two in the bullpen and that’s where they should spend some money.
Another place they may want to spend money is in the outfield. Assuming Friedl is the starter in CF, the corners will be manned by Fraley and Benson, to be joined by Steer who will probably be squeezed out of the infield and into LF. Fraley, Benson, and Steer seem to be legit bats, but a big time thumper in a corner spot would make the lineup imposing. If India isn’t moved Marte could be moved to RF with the expectation that he’ll grow into his power.
They could move a young infielder for an established OFr, but it would need to be a compelling opportunity.
Don’t look now but Nick Krall has done a great job assembling a ton of young talent in a very short time, with a barebones budget from the owners. The entire NLC has some great farm systems now, but I like the way the Reds are set up for prolonged future success.
This is why they should have made a pitching move at the deadline. Actually, they should have gotten a veteran starter in the offseason. The kids needed a mentor.
But we know the kid GM can’t bring in established major league talent and it shows in the dog days when the bullpen is overworked and there is a dumpster dive almost daily. Great place for a contending team to be in.
Yet we hear baloney from fans who accept mediocrity that “they aren’t ready yet” when everyone knew the NL Central was weak this year and 87 wins or so would take the division.
If you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. The 1990 team was supposed to finish third in the division, had “no chance” against the Oakland in the series, and won it all.
The story here is ANOTHER botched medical decision by the Reds training staff. India is now basically getting treatment from outside doctors because the Reds screwed up his foot treatment so badly. The Reds’ handling of injuries and the roster has been awful for years.
So what say you about the Dodgers? They have 14 pitchers alone on the IL, 9 of them on the 60 day IL. Compared to the Reds, LA training staff must be deliberatly dibilitating their own players, right? Seriously, Reds pitching is young. Younger pitchers commonly try to avoid being on the IL and provoke minor injuries into more serious ones. Problem with coaches and trainers is that they can’t read minds.
Apples and oranges. Jonathan India was told to do the opposite of usual recommended treatment and as a result had a setback and now is openly using outside physicians. Lodolo was misdiagnosed with a calf strain. It’s not the number of injuries- that’s just luck/bad luck- it’s bad diagnosis and treatment.
Josh, not for nothing, you’re saying that you know that India was told to do the “exact opposite “ of the usual recommended treatment for plantar fasciitis? What, are you his mama, or his agent?
I read the same. thatthe6 had him doing drills and the standard treatment is to stay off of it, complete rest.