SAN DIEGO – As he recovers from right forearm inflammation, Cincinnati Reds reliever Tejay Antone threw a bullpen session on Friday before the Reds game against the San Diego Padres.
While he’s eligible to return on Sunday, Antone said it sounds like he’ll be activated on Monday or Tuesday for the Reds series against the Minnesota Twins.
“It does sound like I’m going to try to throw a second bullpen,” Antone said. “Get an up and down in so the workload doesn’t jump too much going from sitting for 10 days or 12 days and then jumping in a game and throwing one or two or warning up in the bullpen and throwing one.”
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Antone, the Reds best reliever this season, hasn’t pitched since June 6 against the St. Louis Cardinals. While he warmed up in the bullpen during the following series, the Reds placed Antone on the 10-day injured list on June 11.
Antone rested his arm for several days, and he said he needed the break.
“It was definitely slower than I expected, the recovery was,” Antone said. “I thought I’d take a few days of lighter throwing and I’d just feel great. It took probably five days to actually start feeling good again.”
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In his bullpen Friday, Antone threw with “maximum effort” with a fastball that hit 96 mph. His velocity usually increases with game adrenaline, and Antone said his velocity was where he wanted it.
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After Antone’s second bullpen on Sunday, he said he should be ready to go.
“In a perfect world, I’d want to be activated Sunday,” Antone said. “For the longevity of me and my career and the season and making sure I’m healthy the remainder of the season, the second bullpen makes sense.”
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray also threw a bullpen session before Friday’s game. Gray went on the 10-day IL on June 9 with a right groin strain.
While Gray said he doesn’t have a timetable for his return, he isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time.
“I felt good,” Gray said. “That was all I was really looking to get out of it. It was to walk off the mound in as good of a spot or a better spot than I was going into it. I feel like that definitely happened.”
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