Nick Lodolo, left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, had a good day on Thursday afternoon in Goodyear. He threw to hitters in a live batting practice session. That was the next step for him as he works his way back to the mound and potentially into games this spring.
Lodolo, who last threw for Cincinnati on May 6th against the Chicago White Sox, was initially diagnosed with calf tendinitis before being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his tibia. He attempted to return later in the year, but was shut down while in rehab with Triple-A Louisville when his stress reaction resurfaced.
The lefty faced “five or six” batters and was supposed to throw 25 pitches, but he told reporters that he wasn’t exactly sure how many pitches he threw.
“Felt good,” Lodolo said. “I think we hit that progression, at least for now. I’ll see how I feel in the morning, when I get here in the morning.”
Can he be ready for the start of the season given that he’s not yet pitching in games and March begins tomorrow?
“I think so. I might not be as built up as other guys, I might be like a week behind them. But I feel we can work with that. We haven’t even talked about that part yet. But I’m thinking going forward, if we can get built up enough to be manageable we’ll be alright.”
In today’s game, with 8-man bullpens, it’s a little bit easier to cover a short start. From that standpoint, Lodolo is absolutely correct. If he’s just a week or so behind others, then it’s not a big deal at all for him to head to the mound for his first big league start and be tasked with a 65-75 pitch count. Early in the year, the bullpen guys aren’t tired or worn down like they could be in September and a short start could cause a real impact.
Of course, Lodolo still needs to demonstrate his abilities on the mound. The Reds have more choices than they do rotation slots. Hunter Greene, Frankie Montas, Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, Brandon Williamson, and Nick Martinez are all players who Cincinnati could easily insert into the rotation. That also provides Cincinnati some flexibility in terms of what they want to do with Lodolo. They don’t have to have him ready the first time around the rotation. Whether that means they push him to Triple-A to “rehab” or even to a position where he could “piggyback” with a Nick Martinez to cover some innings that first week or two, the club may take numerous routes if his return
