Nick

Lodolo

This will line Lodolo up to return next Tuesday in Miami against the Marlins. Provided Lodolo’s health holds up on Thursday, we should see him back in the Reds’ rotation next week.

Francona added that Lodolo could be cleared to make a minor league rehab start on Wednesday. The 28-year-old southpaw hit the injured list at the conclusion of spring training with a blister on his left finger but isn’t expected to miss too much time. There should be an additional update on his status at some point later this weekend.

Lodolo resumed throwing Tuesday after leaving his start Sunday in the first inning, and the hope is that he’ll be able to keep his arm built up while his finger heels, allowing to return to the rotation as soon as his 15 days are up.

This always seemed like the most likely outcome after Lodolo didn’t seem to be brimming with optimism after playing catch on Tuesday at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old southpaw won’t require a lengthy absence at the outset of the regular season but he’ll need at least a handful of minor league rehab outings to build up his pitch count and stamina. Top pitching prospect Rhett Lowder, who will start on Sunday against the Red Sox to open the season, seems like the clearest beneficiary from Lodolo’s departure from Cincinnati’s rotation mix since he’ll have a much clearer path to consistent innings, which gives him some fantasy appeal as a streaming option in shallow mixed leagues.

Lodolo resumed throwing on Tuesday when he played catch in front of Reds manager Terry Francona and the team’s training staff; however, Wittenmyer noted that Lodolo “said he didn’t know what plan would be” and that he also “didn’t sound particularly enthused” about how the catch went. The 28-year-old southpaw had a blister issue crop up during his final spring training outing over the weekend, and might not be ready to take the ball at the back-end of Cincinnati’s rotation. It would likely be a brief stint on the injured list with the Reds making that determination before Thursday’s season opener against the Red Sox.

Lodolo will resume throwing later this week after exiting his final spring start over the weekend with a blister on his left finger. The 28-year-old southpaw seems likely to either pitch at the back-end of Cincinnati’s rotation at the outset of the regular season, which would give him additional time to rest and recover, or require a brief trip to the injured list to put the issue to bed. There should be a decision on his status at some point later this week, likely based on how his next throwing session goes.

The 28-year-old hurler appeared to be looking at his finger as he exited, leading to speculation that he could be dealing with a blister. Either way, with just days before the start of the regular season, this obviously puts his first start in jeopardy. Stay tuned, as the Reds should have an update on his status shortly.

Lodolo, one of the Cactus League’s most effective pitchers the previous four years, is having a bit of an off spring this time around, having posted a 5.93 ERA in four starts. Still, that comes with an 18/3 K/BB in 13 2/3 innings. It’s just that he’s allowed as many earned runs this year as he did over 36 innings in his previous three springs combined.

The 28-year-old hurler struck out three batters on the evening and did not allow a base on balls. The Dodgers jumped on him for four runs in the opening inning on run-scoring knocks from Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman and Santiago Espinal. Lodolo then served up a two-run blast to Max Muncy in the third inning. He got five whiffs on 61 pitches in the ballgame, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. It’s been a rough spring overall for Lodolo as he sports a 7.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and an 11/2 K/BB ratio over nine innings of work. The stuff still looks good though, so hopefully he’ll be able to right the ship before the regular season begins.

The run came right away on a Jonathan India homer leading off the bottom of the first, so the other five hits did no further damage. Lodolo struck out four today. His stuff is right where it should be, and he rates as a top-50 SP for 2026.