Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn left labrum that was worse than initially thought.
“The damage was worse than expected,” Price said. “Anterior, posterior damage to the labrum, so it’s probably going to be a lot closer to six months of rehab. But we are optimistic that he’ll be ready to go and at full speed when we get to spring training.”
Mesoraco began feeling pain during the first week of the season and was limited to 50 at-bats in 16 games. He was hitting .140 when the Reds placed him on the disabled list May 2.
It’s the second year in a row Mesoraco’s season has ended before June. A hip injury limited him to 23 games in 2015, the year after he hit .279 with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs and was named to the National League All-Star team.
Rainout fallout: Tuesday’s rained-out game against the Pirates was the first postponed game of the season for the Reds, and the 13th in the 14-year history of Great American Ball Park.
Scheduled starting pitchers Alfredo Simon (1-3, 9.86 ERA) for the Reds and Juan Nicasio (3-3, 4.02) for the Pirates will take the hill tonight.
No makeup date was announced, but the Reds said it will not be on Thursday’s scheduled off day.
The rainout, coupled with the off day, likely will result in a shuffling of the Reds’ rotation, manager Bryan Price said.
“We were probably going to do that anyway for (John) Lamb,” Price said, referring to the left-hander who left Sunday’s game in the fifth inning with a sprained left thumb.
Price said the team is leaning toward skipping Lamb’s next start, scheduled for Saturday at Philadelphia, but the team would have more clarity on that today.
He’s going to play catch tomorrow,” Price said. “One thing I really wanted to do was split up him and (Brandon) Finnegan, the two lefties back to back. So this gives us some options.
“It also gives the bullpen some rest. We have a day off Thursday, so it’s not like the timing’s perfect. This would have been great in the middle of 15 (straight games), however we will utilize it to give the bullpen a breather and to be able to shuffle the deck with Lamb and the rest of these guys.”
Refund info: There will be an announcement regarding the rescheduling of Tuesday’s game at a later date. Fans holding tickets for tonight’s game may present their same ticket for the rescheduled game with no exchange necessary. Tickets may also be exchanged for a remaining 2016 regular season home game (exclusions apply), subject to availability.
Pitcher progress: Price is having a hard time keeping straight the prognosis for each of his injured pitchers. He did his best to rattle off where each guy stood Tuesday.
Raisel Iglesias, who went on the disabled list with right shoulder injury and is eligible to return today, is expected to be re-examined this morning.
“He’s completely pain free, so I’m hoping there’s a throwing program that will be set up and he can start here relatively soon as well,” Price said.
Anthony DeSclafani, who has not pitched this season due to a left oblique injury, played catch Tuesday and Price said a bullpen session is pending.
“I don’t think it’s going to be unrealistic to see him back on the mound,” Price said. “He had a real good game of catch on flat ground today. He looked completely uninhibited and looked normal.”
Jon Moscot (left shoulder) is progressing toward a return from the DL on May 19. He threw a 24-pitch bullpen session Monday and is expected to throw another today.
“He’s been able to do his throwing, it’s just what degrees of throwing can he do before it starts to get irritated,” Price said. “Knock on wood, he hasn’t had that shoulder irritation for a couple of days. We’ll progress with his throwing and if everything goes well we’ll be able to envision a rehab outing.”
Michael Lorenzen, who is on the 60-day DL with a right elbow injury and is not eligible to return until June 2, has been throwing on flat ground and will attempt his first bullpen session off the mound today.
Straily strength: Starting pitcher Dan Straily earned the win Monday night with his third consecutive quality start, marking the first time he has strung together three in a row in the same season since July 4-20, 2013.
Straily is 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA this year, which is more than a run lower (4.60) than he posted in his first four seasons.
One of the reasons has been the right-hander’s success against left-handers, who are hitting 0.94 against him in 53 at-bats.
“A lot of times with the left-handed hitter, every pitch plays a little bit more,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “You can use the curveball and the slider to the lefty. I know he pitches inside more to left-handed hitters. I think that makes a difference, using both sides of the plate to the lefties as opposed to staying mostly away.”
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