Rob Neyer has a couple of posts up today that are notable to Reds fans.
First, he says Chapman is looking like the number 5 starter. We’ll see, but it’s nice to hear. He adds a bit of speculation at the end:
Speculation: Chapman pitches well enough in his next start to earn that starting job, while Bailey winds up on the Disabled List for the fourth time in three seasons. Poor kid just can’t seem to get his shoulder right.
Second, it seems ultra-nice guy Chris Carpenter is going to be out for a while with a shoulder injury. I never root for players to get hurt because that would be wrong and I don’t know how I would explain it to my son, but that doesn’t hurt the Reds’ odds of winning the NL Central. From Neyer:
This could obviously be a lot worse, but it’s still a blow to the Cardinals, who were obviously looking forward to having Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in their rotation for the first time since 2010. But Carpenter’s struggled with this injury a number of times before, and he did throw 273 innings last season, including the postseason. So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s hurt one again.