In the early part of the camp, a pair of Red Army starters lagged slightly behind. Reds revealed rookie right-handed last week Rhett Lowder A mild elbow soreness in his offseason work (passed by Gordon Wittenmyer of Cincinnati Inquirer) was postponed in January. Meanwhile, left-handed Andrew Yape Tell MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that he slowly took everything after being shortened by shoulder pressure in 24 seasons.
While any elbow/shoulder soreness on the pitcher will cause some alarm, Red doesn’t seem to be particularly concerned about any injury. Lowder started a throwing program this morning (as Charlie Goldsmith of Cincinnati Inquirer pointed out). Abbott held several bullpen meetings among the leadership in spring training. He told Sheldon that he would likely have another bullpen meeting before facing the batsmen in a simulated game or batting practice.
Southpaw said he still believes he is expected on opening day. Terry Francona has made fewer promises, in large part, out of caution. “I don’t even have to think about this, just because I think this is where you make a mistake,” the Cincinnati manager told Sheldon.We will do the right thing for every player. If someone isn’t ready, whether it’s him or someone else, we’ll figure out a way to make it work until they’re ready.transparent
If healthy, Lowder and Abbott will compete for roles on the back of Francona’s entrepreneurs. Hunter Green Will be located at the top of the rotation. Trade pickup Brady Singer Locked in one place. Nick Martinez Although he seems likely to start in a year of rotation after accepting a qualified offer of 21.05mm, there is flexibility between starting and long-term relief. This will leave two jobs for the group composed of Lowder, Abbott Nick Lodolo Maybe Carson Spiers or Graham Ashcraft. The latter two can find themselves in the bullpen.
Lowder is the seventh pick in 2023, and a spinning case later last season. Cincinnati called him in August. He caught six times and averaged 1.17 in 30 2/3 innings. His strikeout and walking profiles are far less timely impressive, but it’s no surprise for the first time attacking MLB hitters. Lowder has excellent peripherals in 22 matches at Triple-A Louisville, where he entered the 3.64 ERA through 108 2/3 frames. He fanned more than a quarter of his opponents with a 5.4% walk rate while getting ground balls with a strong 51.7% hit rate.
Over the past two seasons, Abbott has posted 3.78 ERAs in the 46 season. Although he has achieved less than 4.00 in the year, his fundamentals have moved in the wrong direction last season. Abbott’s strikeout rate dropped nearly seven points from his 26.1% score as a rookie. He missed fewer bats at the pace of each game and was more susceptible to home runs. Virginia products landed on the IL in mid-August due to a shoulder injury.
