The Cincinnati Reds and Nick Lodolo got some bad news – the left-handed starter has suffered another stress reaction in his left tibia – first reported by Mark Sheldon of Reds.com. Lodolo hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since May when he had calf tendinosis, but it was also later revealed that he had a stress reaction in the tibia of his left leg. After starting his rehab 11 days ago in Arizona, he made one start with Double-A Chattanooga and one more with Triple-A Louisville. After that latter one, which took place on Sunday afternoon, things didn’t feel right and he would get an MRI that showed the stress reaction.
Cincinnati’s manager David Bell wasn’t willing to say that it would put an end to the season for Lodolo, but that does seem likely at this point with just a little over five weeks remaining in the regular season. The club had expected the left-handed starter to return at the end of the month after making one more rehab start in Triple-A, but that plan is now out the window. Lodolo is going to get a second opinion on the issue and everyone will get together after that to discuss what the options are.
That may mean that Brett Kennedy is going to stick around in the rotation a bit longer than expected. It may also mean that one 40-man roster move that the team was going to have to make won’t have to be made until after the season if Lodolo can’t return. They’ll still have to make some if and when Tejay Antone returns later this week (his rehab time limit is up soon), Justin Dunn returns, and perhaps Vladimir Gutierrez returns (he also suffered a setback on his rehab assignment last week and his timetable for return is up in the air and unknown at this point).
Stink. Fish. POT!!!
Just hope he heals in the offseason. This sounds like the kind of nagging injury that keeps rearing its ugly head.
Hopefully, they sideline him until spring training
Could not agree more.
This season is DONE.
Get ready for next year.
If the Reds expect to contend for not only the division, but the NL title next year, they have to “get the pitching” this winter. They can’t rely on a bunch of rookies and guys in their second and third seasons. Especially when Greene and Lodolo are starting to spend as much time on the IL as on the active roster. Sonny Gray would be one perfect signing. They definitely need a second veteran to stabilize the rotation as well.
Don’t be silly. There’s no need to acquire any dependable pitchers when you’ve got Greene and Lodolo retuning from the injured list. The team has all the pitching it can possibly need. Or so I’ve heard.
Totally agree if you do not have 3 or 4 starting pitchers that can make 30 starts and pitch 150 to 180 innings with a reasonable ERA. It will be difficult to make a deep run in the postseason.
The problem is the Met’s, Dodgers, Yankees(anmong others) all will be revamping their pitching staffs through signing the best free agent starting pitchers. I don’t see the Reds outbidding those teams.
Let’s face it the Reds won’t spend money either way, but the price for starting pitching is going to be astronomical.
Sonny Gray, for example, would not like to go back to pitching for the Yankees.
He might want to come back to Cincinnati, actually.
He turned his career around here, with the help of Derick Johnson.
Who knows? I thought he was too old and about done, and now…Who knows?
I knew it.
https://www.redlegnation.com/2023/08/21/cincinnati-reds-notebook-nick-lodolos-rehab-start-is-a-mixed-bag/#comment-944518
To be clear, I’m not gloating about being right, because this is absolutely horrible news for both the Reds and Lodolo. My heart sank when I read about him walking 3 people in 1 inning in his last outing, because that’s exactly the kind of control problems he was having when he first got injured.
What it sounds like to me happened was Lodolo’s leg was healthy, but not fully healed, and that’s why he started out with 2 good outings. But eventually the weak bonds of healing in his leg came undone and that’s how we got the 3rd outing.
Basically, he came back too quickly. He probably needed another month to fully heal, but now he’s back to square one. Shut him down, turn the lights off, his season is over.
See you in February, Nick. Rest up and get healthy.
Done for the season. So far the strategy of waiting until Greene and Lodolo comes back rather than obtaining starting pitching at the deadline isn’t working so well.
Generally speaking, the pitching has not been that bad. More than anything, it’s the offense that has been struggling.
Absolutely true…so far. If Greene bounces back we’ll still have at least four pretty good starters.
I don’t know what to say. The GM bet the farm on the return and contributions of Greene and Lodolo while sitting in first place. 2 IL guys, 2 guys reaching career innings levels, an ineffective Weaver, and a fatigued bullpen. Nah, we didn’t have an overwhelming need to add pitchers. We had plenty….. if you want to count Richardson, Stoudt, Wynne, Kennedy, etc. If we end blowing our playoff opportunity, I think one guy can take a bow. So sad and disappointing. Embarrassment not far behind. I really don’t know who is going to pitch all these innings because Louisville does not have any major league level pitchers. Maybe a 4 man rotation and 9 relievers. Trying to stay upbeat but it wasn’t hard to see this coming.
The GM did not bet the farm on Greene and Lodolo. He knew that he should not overpay for pitching at the deadline, and he didn’t do it. He knew the 2023 Reds were winning on luck and need the young coe of players to mature and that they would probably normalize, and that there may be more injuries. That’s what happened.
Bravo Nick Krall. Bravo. You improved the team on the margins without giving up any of the future and you have money to spend this winter.
Can’t have too much pitching, don’t sign one for one on this thing but oversign and that’s what the Reds need to look to do.
As for Lodolo, don’t know if I’ve ever heard of such an injury. Good luck to him.
precursor to stress fracture. I would assume if he took the next several months off it will resolve.
“We already have what we need” Nick Krall
Did he really say this?
Show me where he said that please
The irony of this news coming out on the day the Reds will face Lucas Giolito does not go unnoticed by me.
True, the Reds starting pitching has been OK. But even if Lodolo had come back, a trade for a starting pitcher at the deadline could have spared the team 7-8 starts from the likes of Luke Weaver and Lyon Richardson. But hey, what’s 7-8 games? No one ever wins a division by less than 7 or 8 games, right?
Oh well. there’s still THE FUTURE. The future is super much more important than the present, that’s what Bob Castellini has taught me, and I thank him.
Luckily, I just need one more win to cash in on my preseason Over 64.5 wins bet.
Luke Weaver was just signed by the Mariners. He must not be THAT bad.
Think of what they gave up for Luis.
They might now be smart.
They gave up minor leaguers for an Ace SP.
As a starter or reliever? He might be a serviceable reliever
Giolito 8.14 ERA in 4 starts since the deadline. Reds apparently made a run at Brady Singer. I’m sure the Royals were probably shooting to the sky. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a target of theirs in the offseason again though.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/08/reds-targeted-brady-singer-at-trade-deadline.html
Hmmm. Going through unwanted divorce and an 8.14 ERA for the last month. That’s pretty good. My ERA would ha e been well above 10 when I went theough mine.
Yes, such irony when considering Giolito has a 6.67 era in an Angels uniform. Weaver has probably been better in that time frame.
Just waiting for the Reds to announce Hunter Greene’s second Tommy John surgery.
Should have just went extra slow with both Greene and Lodolo and not thought of them as trade acquisitions. Management just isn’t very good with the Reds.
I said the same thing here three weeks ago and was told by the baseball whisperer that was impossible because the Reds were tied for the last WC spot. Even though everyone knows this team is not making the post season this season.
The Reds decided they would count on their players on the IL, instead of making a trade
Or two which of course would have likely meant increasing team payroll. Which we all know is a big NO from Bob Castellini.
I posted a “Go Slow With Lodolo” message here last week and was quickly shouted down by the RLN faithful calling that idea foolish and saying he was ready for 80-90 pitches.
No reason for the Reds to do anything but shut him down.
Harry, So you narrowed it down to a pitch count? Wow, how did you come to that conclusion? I don’t know why the Reds pay doctors any money since the Harry’s of the world have the exact answers. Dr, what’s the issue with Greene? Did he come back too soon, or was he just a bit rusty and over excited, causing him to miss spots etc.?
Yes, the Reds have the most exciting group of rookies on their team in decades, if not ever, but management just isn’t very good with the Reds. 🙂
They do have very exciting rookies Chris. The Reds have been able to draft high because of being pretty terrible, They then gutted their mlb assets so they should have some very exciting young guys. Just be careful of anointing any of these young guys too fast. India and Stephenson are prime examples.
The starting pitching is hardly what has let us down the last two months.
Don’t screw up a perfectly good and long held theory with facts!
But that would kill half the comments on RLN. Like the Giolito comment.
Saw a startling quote on The Athletic today – “Reds rotation ERA is 3rd worst in all of major league baseball thru yesterday”. That is 27th place. It might not be 3rd worst the last 2 months but starting pitching ERA has certainly been bad this year. A serious weakness that has to be addressed.
Gonna be a lot of competition for free agent starting pitchers this year. No-one wants to pitch in GABP so likely a trade or 2 will be necessary.
if they didn’t trade at the deadline because the price was too high, why would they trade in the off-season when the price will be just as high?
Desperate times call for desperate measures. 😉
But in the offseason, you have more time to discuss trades with other teams, and maybe talk to free agents and negotiate contracts.
It’s too late to regret making a big move at the trade deadline, but we don’t know what teams were asking for (from the Reds) in return for an available starting pitcher.
Years ago (1987), the Detroit Tigers were in a pennant race, and got Doyle Alexander from the Atlanta Braves, who were kind of lousy then. And the Braves wanted a young pitcher the Tigers had….a guy named John Smoltz…you may have heard of him.
They cant when they only go 4 and 2/3 every night.
BINGO
Open that baby up and find out for sure what’s the problem, already ffs
Geez. This is several seasons now where Nick’s season has either been delayed or cut short due to injury. He can’t develop if this is always going on. Every start is important. Ashcraft, Williamson, and Abbott have developed by leaps and bounds compared to where they were in April. Nick is running the risk of being left behind and not having a position if the other starters continue to take the ball every 5th day.
Krall is going to have to spend some $ on a couple starters this off-season or the rebuild window will begin to close again.
Krall has already said that they will not build by FA acquisitions. So don’t hold your breath.
terrible news, but not surprising since the Reds medical staff is Keystone Kops awful.
Krall and the FO fooled a large portion of the fan base AGAIN by claiming that players returning from the IL were like deadline acquisitions.
They don’t want to improve the team. They simply do not care about winning in the present.
They only care about pointing to a future that has never once arrived under Bob Castellini.
I guarantee you they’ll spin more lies and untruths as the season comes to an end.
I feel terrible for the players, especially Votto, as he’s not going to get the jackpot he do richly deserves.
Where does this nonsense come from? So Krall was fooling everyone? So that means Krall knew that Lodolo wasn’t coming back? Wow! Wonder where you got that information. So by those brilliant deductions on your part, did Krall fool us all by giving us the impression that this team would lose 100 games, and is instead in a playoff race? That terrible Krall, what a deceptive guy he is. Some of you need to lay off the keyboard, when you lower yourself to the point that you are now calling people out for essentially lying, instead of the truth which is that Krall was probably as bothered and surprised as anyone else with the news of Lodolo.
Everyone in the management for the Reds is just liar, and of all people, you feel sorry for the guy who has been earning $20 mil + over the last few years while underperforming. LOL
Unbelievable how things have gone bad after the decisions made or not made on the trade deadline…
Since the all star break, the reds have had 10 or more strikeouts in 21 of the 34 games they have played and are 5-16 in those games. That is unsustainable if they expect to win. And let’s not talk about the Sophmore jinx next year that effects many rookies.
When they strike out less than 8 times, they are 7-3.
8 times since the all star game the staff had given up 3 runs and they are 2-6 in those games.
4 times they gave up 4 runs and lost all four times
2 runs or less…. 8-1
5 or 6 runs 3-5
The rest were blowouts 0 and 5.
So, the easy answer is go out and get a staff that holds to two or fewer runs a game, and start putting the ball in play.
4 runs should be easily topped by a playoff caliber team, especially in GABP and the Reds should be winning those games 2 out of 3 times.
Finally, Fernando Cruz should be teaching a class to the entire staff on how he throws that splitter. That would make Greene, Ashcraft Abbot and Williamson with a pitch that falls that far vertically top shelf pitchers.
SR, Right on! BTW, old baseball maxim : You can never have too much pitching, hear that Krall!
Wait.. But him and Hunter Greene were going to save the season. This is why I laughed at Nick Krall telling us they had 2 injured pitchers coming back so we felt good for staying put at the deadline. Next year there will always be next year.
Even if he comes back healthy in the spring how many innings will he be good for next year?
Greene and Lodolo both contributed to our 27th worst starting pitching ERA. To consider either a reliable starting pitcher is a huge stretch. I’m guessing neither would be a top 3 rotation guy among the 12 playoff teams. Yet, Krall believed in them, one of his biggest mistakes to date.
It’s sickening to think of the pitching we gave up in recent years. And while we stockpiled a glut of shortstops, we did little to fortify our pitching. Anderson? Legumina (sp?), Dunn, Petty … Am I forgetting anyone?
Anyway, pitching wins baseball games. Our rotation is the 4th worst in baseball. The hitting was bound to dry up. Now we’ll scramble to stay above .500. Still, thanks Cincinnati Reds, for bridging the gap til football season, when I can watch a professionally run organization (the Steelers), show how a rebuild is executed.
Should we shut down Andrew Abbott?
Four walks in four innings is a concern. I don’t know if his velo dropped, but he has already surpassed last year’s IP, and I think is close to 10% beyond.
I think Abbott can have a Tom Browning-esque career. Maybe better. I’d hate to see him have arm problems because we chased the postseason this year and threw out his arm.
Honestly, this season has been a pleasant surprise, and I would love to make the playoffs, where, “anything can happen.” But I don’t think rushing arms back (Lodolo), or far exceeding an innings pitched cap (Abbott), or blowing up the bullpen with 5 innings pitched every night is the best path.
We need to get trade some everyday players to get some durable, quality arms for the rotation. It’s that simple, and it will come at a steep price, but it is the most valuable commodity in the game, so it should.
Joe Burrow isn’t busy the next couple of weeks.