The Cincinnati Reds entered spring training with eight pitchers competing for five spots in the starting rotation.
Even though a few of those starters dealt with minor injuries during camp, the Reds are entering the season with three veteran starters and two young pitchers that pitching coach Derek Johnson said he believes can contribute right away.
On Wednesday, the Reds announced the rotation’s order: Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, Jeff Hoffman, José De León, Wade Miley.
Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen will start the season on the 10-day injured list, and Tejay Antone dealt with a setback late in the spring. Last week, Hoffman and De León claimed the last two spots in the rotation.
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“These two guys, I think, can get better as the season goes on,” Johnson said. “I look for it to be a year where there is going to be a lot of teaching that goes on all the way through this with those two in particular. And then I think there are some other guys along the way as well. I’m cautiously optimistic with those guys looking into what they could be maybe as opposed to what they are right now.”
Hoffman and De León both made at least four starts in spring training and showed the potential to be strikeout throwing starting pitchers. While Hoffman had an 8.50 ERA and De León had an 8.64 ERA, Johnson said their spring stats didn’t reflect how well they pitched.
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“I think if you actually look at De León’s numbers, they are heavily skewed from probably a couple of performances where we took him out and put him back in and the reliever gave up his runs,” Johnson said. “I’m sure that it looks disastrous. I don’t think it was quite as disastrous as maybe what those numbers would suggest.”
While Miley is on track to start the fifth game of the season, that’s not necessarily representative of where he stands in the rotation.
Miley left a start on March 11 with a hamstring injury. He returned to make two more starts during the spring, and Miley’s throwing schedule sets him up to pitch on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“It had nothing really to do with Pittsburgh,” Johnson said. “It had everything to do with just giving him a chance to get a couple of more innings in spring training because he started off slow. Same thing here, a little bit of rest on the back side of it to get him ready to go.”
Updates on Lorenzen and Gray
When Gray and Lorenzen are healthy, Johnson said they'll both be in the starting rotation. It looks like Gray will return sooner.
Gray (back) is scheduled to pitch in a Reds scrimmage on Wednesday.
"We're still looking with Sonny sometime in the middle of the month if all things go well," Johnson said.
Lorenzen (shoulder) suffered a "very small" setback, Johnson said.
"I look for him to get going again here either today or tomorrow," Johnson said of Lorenzen. "I can't give you a timetable on him quite yet, I don't think it'd be fair, I think it'd be a little bit premature."
Roster almost done
While the pitching staff is finalized for the season, there are still two position player spots that haven't been confirmed.
The availability of Joey Votto on Opening Day is still a question as he recovers from a positive case of COVID-19. Votto is still on the injured list, but it's possible that he plays against the Cardinals.
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Four players remain in limbo: infielders Alex Blandino and Max Schrock and outfielders Mark Payton and Aristides Aquino. If Votto is available, then there's room for two of those players. If Votto is unavailable, there's room for three of those players.
Luis Castillo looks like an ace
Last season, Luis Castillo started the second game of the regular season, following Sonny Gray. In the playoffs, Castillo started the second game again, this time following Trevor Bauer.
Heading into his fifth MLB season, Castillo enters the year as the Reds Opening Day starter after having one of the best spring trainings of his career.
“He could go out and win the Cy Young,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “I affirmably believe that. He’s a guy that has that kind of stuff, and that kind of work ethic. He’s just got to stay healthy, as we all do. I think that if he stays healthy for all of his starts this year, he could absolutely go out there and be the best pitcher in the National League.”
Reds finalize their bullpen
The Reds had announced seven relief pitchers on the MLB roster by the end of spring training, and they confirmed their last spot on Wednesday.
Carson Fulmer, who was claimed by the Reds in March, made the team after allowing just one hit and one run in three innings with the Reds.
“I think that going into (Opening Day), I’ve prepared myself the best I possibly can to have some success this year,” Fulmer said.
Fulmer will factor into the front-end of the bullpen. The other seven pitchers in the bullpen on Opening Day will be Amir Garrett, Lucas Sims, Tejay Antone, Sean Doolittle, Cam Bedrosian, Cionel Pérez and Sal Romano.
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