Manager Bryan Price provided upates on some of the injured Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday before the second game of a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs. It took him a while. It’s not a short list. It rarely is.
Here are the latest updates on the players stuck on the disabled list early in the season:
• Brandon Finnegan (biceps, 10-day DL): He'll throw a simulated game Wednesday in Louisville, Price said, "in an effort to get him stretched out to 80 or 85 pitches or so."
The Reds then will evaluate Finnegan’s performance to make sure he’s feeling good and that he’s regular-season ready.
“The caveat when we went over his preparation schedule for being activated here is we would get through (Wednesday),” Price said, “and reevaluate and define whether he’s ready to come join us on (Monday) or make one start in in our minor-league system.”
• Anthony DeSclafani (oblique, 60-day): Price said DeSclafani was on day three of a throwing program Tuesday.
• Michael Lorenzen (shoulder, 10-day): Lorenzen will have a checkup Wednesday. The Reds want to make sure the injury is healed before he starts throwing.
“Everyone is optimistic that he’s healed at a faster pace than originally thought he would,” Price said.
• David Hernandez (shoulder, 10-day): He played catch Monday and reported no pain or issues. Price said he would throw again Tuesday.
Lineup plans: Price put Phil Gosselin in the lineup at second base and batted him second Tuesday in the final game of a two-game series against the Cubs.
Scooter Gennett, who led the Reds with .471 average (8-for-17) in the first four games, didn’t start for the first time. This has been Price’s plan since the start of the season. He rested shortstop Jose Peraza on Monday and gave Cliff Pennington his first start.
“I try to pencil my lineups out in advance,” Price said, “and stay aware of who the bench players are and when they need to play.”
Bullpen roles: The Reds used relievers Jared Hughes and Wandy Peralta three times in the first four games, and Raisel Iglesias saw action Sunday and Monday after being on the paternity list for the first two games.
Hughes, Peralta and Iglesias combined to allow one hit in three scoreless innings Monday in a 1-0 victory against the Cubs. Each reliever walked a batter. Iglesias got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by striking out Anthony Rizzo to end the inning. Iglesias followed with a perfect ninth.
“We’re trying to find the best way to mix them,” Price said. “In this case, it wasn’t challenging when you just have to go from Hughes to Peralta to Iglesias. Iggy was big coming back after pitching an inning (Sunday), coming in and having to face (Kris) Bryant and Rizzo to get the last out of the (eighth) inning. There’s not a lot of easy outs in their lineup, and I thought he handled that ninth inning really well.”
Looking ahead: The Reds are off Wednesday and start their first road trip of the season Thursday with a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. They then play three games against the Philadelphia Phillies before returning home April 12 for a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
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