Reds lefty Nick Lodolo’s stellar rehab outing came to an abrupt end on Thursday.
Lodolo, who started this MLB season on the 15-day injured list because of a blister, exited his start with the Single-A Daytona Tortugas after throwing 40 pitches because of another sore on his index finger.
The 28-year-old retired the first eight batters in order with four strikeouts, but then called for a trainer in the middle of an at-bat during the third inning despite being expected to throw 60-65 pitches.
The Reds confirmed Lodolo’s blister to the Cincinnati Enquirer, though it is still unclear if the issue will delay the lefty’s return to the major league club.
Lodolo, who has dealt with blister injuries throughout his MLB career, suffered the initial injury during his final spring training start on March 22.
Cincinnati skipper Terry Francona said Monday that Lodolo was slated to make his season debut for the Reds during the team’s series against the Marlins (April 6-9) in Miami, barring any setback.
“We didn’t want to have him go somewhere and not pitch,” Francona told the Enquirer. “So we thought this was the best way to do it.”
Lodolo is coming off perhaps his best MLB season in his four-year career so far, where he posted a 3.33 ERA with 156 strikeouts and two complete games through a career-high 156⅔ innings.
This also comes as the Reds are without their ace, Hunter Greene, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery that he underwent on March 11 to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow.
“I’d been dealing with discomfort for a while,” Greene told reporters following his surgery, according to MLB.com. “Over the course of a season and feeling certain things in an area, especially as an elbow … as a pitcher you think that it’s just, ‘Maybe I’m feeling a little inflammation or discomfort,’ and it’s to be expected because we’re pitchers. Obviously, it’s a lot on the body.
“The bone spurs came up as chronic so there’s no timestamp as to when it formed, but it’s been there. It’s still early [after the surgery], so I still feel it and it’s still uncomfortable and swollen. There’s already a lot of freedom in the elbow.”
Greene is expected to make his Reds return in July.
