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Reds followers acquired some disappointing information concerning the standing of middle fielder TJ Friedl yesterday, as Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer relayed yesterday that the 28-year-old will want one other 7-10 days of sunshine actions earlier than starting to ramp up his rehab of a fractured wrist suffered throughout Spring Coaching final month.
No timetable for Friedl’s return to motion was introduced on the time of his harm, although Wittenmeyer signifies that Friedl hoped to have been cleared for extra exercise at this level within the restoration course of. Friedl is joined on the injured checklist by infielder Matt McLain, who is predicted to overlook a lot of the 2024 season after present process shoulder surgical procedure in late March. Regardless of the shortage of a transparent timeline for Friedl’s return to motion, it seems the membership is hopeful he’ll be capable of return sooner moderately than later, as he has not but been positioned on the 60-day IL alongside McLain.
The losses of Friedl and McLain to open the season, together with Noelvi Marte’s absence as a consequence of an 80-game suspension following a constructive PED check, have examined Cincinnati’s once-impressive positional depth early within the 2024 marketing campaign. These losses have left the Reds with a considerably middling offense up to now this season, as their 102 wRC+ getting into play in the present day ranked middle-of-the-pack in each the majors (14th) and the NL (seventh). Whereas children like Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer have gotten off to phenomenal begins this season, different key hitters reminiscent of Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have struggled badly thus far within the younger 2024 season.
That uneven offense has thrust the membership’s rotation combine into the highlight. The membership’s 4.11 beginning ERA by way of their first 13 video games this season can be center of the pack, however the rotation corps acquired a significant reinforcement in the present day when the membership introduced that southpaw Nick Lodolo had been activated from the injured checklist to begin this afternoon’s recreation towards the White Sox. As soon as a consensus top-40 prospect within the sport, the 26-year-old Lodolo delivered a superb rookie season in 2022 however was restricted to simply 34 1/3 innings of 6.29 ERA baseball final 12 months amid harm points.
Happily for the Reds, it seems the left-hander is as soon as once more wholesome as he dominated the White Sox to the tune of 5 2/3 scoreless innings the place he allowed only one hit and one stroll whereas racking up ten strikeouts. If Lodolo can proceed to supply high quality manufacturing for Cincinnati going ahead, he’d be part of Frankie Montas and Andrew Abbott on the entrance of the membership’s beginning rotation. Proper-handers Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, and Nick Martinez are additionally within the membership’s rotation combine in the interim, although it’s doable that certainly one of that group might be pushed to the bullpen within the close to future by Lodolo’s return. Martinez seems to be the probably candidate for such a task, given his prolonged monitor document as a reliever and tough begin to the 2024 marketing campaign.
That group of six seem like unlikely to get additional reinforcements within the close to future, as membership supervisor David Bell advised reporters (together with Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer) earlier this week that left-hander Brandon Williamson’s goal date for return isn’t till late subsequent month. Williamson is presently nursing a shoulder pressure however figures to be a high quality depth choice for the Cincinnati rotation as soon as wholesome after he pitched to a stable 4.46 ERA (102 ERA+) in 23 begins with the membership final 12 months.
Per Goldsmith, Bell indicated that the identical late Could timeline Williamson is on can be the anticipated monitor for lefty aid arm Alex Young. The 30-year-old hurler has been stable in center aid the previous two seasons, pitching to a 3.36 ERA with a 4.29 FIP in 88 appearances with the Reds, Giants, and Guardians the previous two seasons. Younger is joined on the shelf by fellow southpaw Sam Moll, although it seems the latter lefty is far nearer to a return because the Reds introduced this afternoon that he’s headed to Triple-A for a rehab project. Acquired from the A’s in alternate for right-hander Joe Boyle on the commerce deadline final 12 months, Moll was phenomenal with the Reds down the stretch as he pitched to a 0.73 ERA in 25 appearances. Whereas Moll and Younger are on the shelf, Cincinnati has relied on Brent Suter and Justin Wilson as their major left-handed aid choices.
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