Cincinnati Reds LHP Nick Lodolo is on the injured list with a finger blister. Catcher Tyler Stephenson is nursing a jammed thumb.
ANAHEIM, California – Two key parts to the Cincinnati Reds’ playoff plans, pitcher Nick Lodolo and catcher Tyler Stephenson, appear to be nearing returns from minor injuries.
Lodolo, who’s on the 15-day injured list because of a finger blister suffered Aug. 4 in Chicago, fared well in a bullpen session Aug. 17 and has a couple more to go this week before a timeline for his return to the rotation might be determined.
“There’s a chance he pitches in L.A.,” manager Terry Francona said of the Aug. 25-27 series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. “That’s not determined yet. Kind of want to see how he progresses.”
Lodolo pitched well against the Dodgers at home July 29, leaving with the lead in the sixth inning (with 11 strikeouts, one walk) before the Dodgers came back to win 5-4.
Stephenson jammed his glove-hand thumb on a pitch from Hunter Greene on Aug.13 – “super random,” he said – and had it worsen in his next start two days later against Milwaukee.
He hasn’t started since but has been available off the bench, as the Reds try to clear the inflammation.
“It’s doing a lot better today,” Stephenson said after taking batting practice on the field before the Reds opened a series against the Angels Aug. 18. “It’s been getting better each day.
“It’s one of those annoying, frustrating things that, especially where we are right now, time is the only way to heal it, and we don’t have time,” he said. “It’s that fine line: I want to test it and see how it is, but I guess realistically one weird pitch could make it flare back up again.”
It’s not serious enough that the medical staff deemed X-rays were necessary, and the expectation is he might return to the lineup this week.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How close Cincinnati Reds Nick Lodolo, Tyler Stephenson are to returns
Category: Baseball
