Danny

Graves

The back spasms that forced Graves to the disabled list were caused by a strain. He is eligible to come off September 3rd, and it looks like he may be able to on that date. Joe Valentine and Ryan Wagner will get save chances in his absence.

“With Danny, he’s at home resting,” trainer Mark Mann said. “The first 48 to 72 hours, you’re very contagious. We didn’t want him around his teammates.” Joe Valentine will handle closing duties.

Graves feels very good. He went on the DL with back spasms, but says the two weeks of rest was just what his arm needed. Get him active for next week.

Graves is hobbled by a bruised left foot courtesy of a Wes Helms’ line-drive on Friday night. “He’s sore,” Reds manager Dave Miley said. Joe Valentine will likely get any save opportunities while Graves is sidelined.

Graves wants to have two fake fingernails applied to his right index and middle fingers for preventative purposes, saying he’s done it many times. Graves will start today against the Cubs.

''I shut down the windup today because I wanted to be comfortable,’' Graves said. ''I’ve tried 72 different windups.’' Graves worked exclusively out of the stretch as a reliever and may do the same as a starter.

The Reds believe the knee soreness is the explanation behind Graves’ rough start. He only should miss one start, so he’ll likely be ready for the start of the season.

The experiment to turn Graves into a starter is over, the team announced Friday. Graves went 4-14 with a 5.30 ERA and 29 home runs allowed as a starter. The Reds will give him a few games off before putting him into the bullpen, at which time he won’t be thrown back into the closer role. Eventually, however, he is expected to regain his old job. Graves’ value for this season and next season gets a big bump. The Reds don’t currently have a replacement for him in the starting rotation, but saw no reason to delay the move.

Graves has had blisters in the past, but they’ve never caused any big problems. Graves will pitch in a minor league game on Monday and make his season debut on April 5.

''If I had to pitch in a major league game today, I could,’' he said. Graves developed the blisters while pitching in a minor league game Wednesday. He blamed the blisters on the minor league baseballs. ''The seams are higher,’' he said. ''With me throwing all two-seam fastballs, I really got (blisters) quick.’'