When it rains, it pours. Or at least that’s the saying. Just about nothing has gone right for the Cincinnati Reds over the last week and that continued on Thursday afternoon in Chicago. After struggling with control in the 3rd and 4th innings, Rhett Lowder walked two batters to begin the 4th and then threw a first pitch ball to the third batter before he got a visit from the trainer and manager Terry Francona. The conversation was back-and-forth for about a minute but at the end of it Lowder walked off of the mound and into the dugout.
In the 15 minutes from when Lowder had to exit the game and the inning he started came to an end the score had gone from a 1-0 to 8-0 to add insult to injury. Following the end of the 4th it was announced that the Reds right-handed starter left the game with right shoulder discomfort.
Cincinnati just send Chase Petty back to Triple-A after he made a spot start earlier this week in place of Brandon Williamson, who is now on the 60-day injured list with what is being called left shoulder fatigue. Nick Lodolo is due to make his first start of the year tomorrow for the Reds after missing the first six weeks of the regular season while dealing with a blister issue. Petty could very well be returning to rejoin the rotation if Lowder is going to have to miss time with this injury.
Update: 5:28pm
Manager Terry Francona noted in his postgame interview that Lowder wanted to remain in the game, but said he “felt some clicking up there”, which doesn’t sound great but he noted that he didn’t think it was a “terrible amount of discomfort”. Francona said they would get him an MRI in the morning and they would know more then.
Time for Krall to get on the phone with other GMs and start moving some minor league pieces for some pitching.
Arroyo and Duno are your only chips. Not gonna happen.
GMs that trade their valuable pitching in early May aren’t GMs for very long.
This is why I scream never trade starting pitching.
In addition to removing the batting and pitching coaches, the Reds need to check out other trainers as well. Too many injuries year after year.
This is going to shock a lot of readers here – but the Reds players aren’t injured more than other teams are. You just notice the Reds injuries more because you watch them every day.
That doesn’t make it acceptable.
Acceptable to whom? Baseball, like many occupations, carries with it a significant risk of injury. The effort required to play the game at this level guarantees that people will get hurt from time to time, and even the best conditioned players are subject to the hazard.
The shoulder injury to Lowder was actually pretty unsurprising to me. It just happened to Williamson for the same reason. They are still not as strong as they should be, after being off most of last year (Lowder) and almost 2 years ( Williamson). Fatigue for guys that have not built up their overall core strength. Put Lowder on the IL, and call Chase Petty back up to be a starter. Hopefully, Nick Lodolo can come back now and be effective.
It also looks like Andrew Abbott has turned a corner.
Brady Singer still is pretty ….”League average”, to be kind.
Chase Burns looks like he is getting better every start.
And…the bullpen is going to get worn out.
I said I would not be the Old Man Yelling at Clouds anymore on pitching injuries. The cauldron is boiling and we now think it’s normal. Major epidemic.
Rinse. Repeat. Nothing’s wrong. Exponential increase in injuries from even 5-7 years ago. But it’s across the board so it’s ok.
And nobody said get rid of people. They just pointed out it’s a problem. A major problem.
Has anyone even tried something different?
Changing the subject…
Glad to see some winning teams are bringing the bunt back. TB is winning with playing the game the right way. CIN should follow suit.
Ah, yes. Yet another poster who thinks the answer to the Reds’ injuries is to “get rid of the training staff”. Since the reason why out players get injured HAS to be because our trainers don’t know what they’re doing. Or our doctors don’t know what they’re doing. Or our massage therapists don’t know what they’re doing. Gotta be something, right?
Or maybe it’s just because baseball players get injured. And contrary to what many on here believe, the Reds don’t get injured more than other teams. You can keep replacing the training staff every year, and it’s not going to keep players from getting hurt.
Thanks, Docmike.
Cubs will do that to ya.
This season is quickly becoming a disaster.
It sure is. The boys need a reset before Houston visits tomorrow night.
Bring back my boy Lyon Richardson and start stretching him out. He was pretty good in the beginning last year and really good at Lville this year. Only 40 man issues make keep pushing Franco ahead of him. He’s been better then Antone. Idk? This season is most likely over with all the holes and the injuries.
They’re not going to rip off 12 straight close games again, but this will be many more beatdowns so why not try to find some more Bleday’s
7 in a row in our division and another pitching injury. Time to hold philosophies accountable.
Johnson is a God in this organization. I don’t see pitchers better under his tutelage at all. But who am I.
Whose philosophy? The same one that every other team in MLB subscribes to?
I see your point, but since the evidence indicates that the philosophy–throw hard with great spin–the Reds follow is the philosophy every other team adheres to, aren’t you unintentionally advocating that the Reds should bring a knife to a gun fight?
I’m paraphrasing here, but “If you think like the Yankees, you will lose to the Yankees.” Moneyball paraphrased quote.
We need to quit doing what everyone else does.
Defense. Speed. Pitching that doesn’t walk anyone. Put the ball in play. Move runners over and get them in.
Walking 8 guys a night and striking out 10 times as a team because we are trying to keep up with the Yankees’s spin rates and exit velocities is insane.
From first to last in 7 days. I don’t think the Reds will recover.
If Lowder has an IL stint , the three guys who lost the last season named Williamson , Aguiar and Lowder would be injured again. Is it pushing related?
I think it’s also a consequence of Greene and Lodolo injuries before the season started…Now the Reds need Abbott had recovered his 2025 shape , Singer to be at least solid and Lodolo will come as good as he can
The silver lining is that Lowder’s time on the IL will give him a chance to get a haircut.
His hair, his decision. I doubt that lack of time accounts for it. It is vanishingly unlikely that his hair contributes to his injury history or lack of control.
The Reds are off on Monday, so this will allow them to simply skip Lowder’s turn for a few days. We can go Lodolo-Burns-Abbott this weekend, then off day on Monday before Singer on Tuesday, means they don’t need a 5th starter until next Saturday the 16th. I would say call up Chase Petty and let him give it a shot.
I agree. Give Petty the opportunity. It’s why we traded for him.
Since Arroyo has had a little success lately, time to trade him. Maybe his value is a little higher. He has no position open at the ML level and will be another of the hitless wonders on the ML team.