Another Cincinnati Reds pitcher is going on the injured list. The roster move hadn’t been made official as of Reds manager Terry Francona’s morning meeting with reporters on May 10, but Francona announced Rhett Lowder was headed for the 15-day IL.
The decision to place Lowder on the IL was taken after team officials were to check on the 23-year-old pitcher following some long tossing prior to Cincinnati’s May 9 game at Great American Ball Park. Prior to that, Lowder was knocked out of his May 7 start against the Chicago Cubs due to what the team called shoulder discomfort.
On May 2, Lowder was hit hard by the Pittsburgh Pirates and allowed eight runs in less than two innings.
“It’s not been done year but our thought was we’re trying not to put a bandaid on something,” Francona said. “We want this kid to be able to pitch, and pitch for a long time and not get interrupted so, hopefully, a couple weeks down will do him a world of good.”
Lowder can throw during his IL stint, Francona said, adding that it probably wouldn’t be off a mound in the short term.
The biggest pitching development of the Reds’ series against the Houston Astros, which concluded May 10, was the return of Nick Lodolo. He started the May 8 series opener and the outing was thought to be a good starting point. He allowed four runs, but those runs came on two pitches that resulted in two two-run homers for Houston.
But nearly as soon as Lodolo was back in the fold, Lowder was lost to the IL. That meant the Reds have three starters out for the foreseeable future with staff ace Hunter Greene’s return from March elbow surgery still months away, and No. 5 starter Brandon Williamson on the 60-day IL.
Another turn through the rotation started May 10 as Opening Day starter Andrew Abbott took to the mound for Cincinnati.
Brady Singer, initially the No. 2 starter as of Opening Day but a projected No. 4 starter prior to losing Greene and Lodolo to the IL in March, is listed as next up for Cincinnati when it hosts the Washington Nationals May 12 at Great American Ball Park.
The team is off May 11.
The May 13 starting spot is listed as “TBD” for now while Lodolo will go May 14, and the Reds also don’t have a starter announced for the May 15 series opener at Cleveland.
Reds closer Emilio Pagán was lost to the 15-day IL during the Cubs series for a hamstring strain.
Several available pitchers have also battled inconsistency since the calendar turned to May. That contributed to the team’s eight-game losing streak, which it snapped with a 3-1 win May 9 against the Astros.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Rhett Lowder latest Reds pitcher headed to the injured list
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
