GOODYEAR, Arizona – The Cincinnati Reds were breathing a collective sigh of relief Sunday morning.
Michael Lorenzen exited Saturday's "B" game with a slight shoulder strain and Tejay Antone abruptly ended his bullpen session Saturday with irritation of his hip flexor, but neither injury is expected to be a long-term setback.
"We got as good of news as possible," Reds general manager Nick Krall said. "I think we’re hopeful that both will start the season on time, but we’re still monitoring the situation."
Both pitchers are expected to have major roles this year. Lorenzen will likely be in the starting rotation. Antone was competing for a starter's spot, but manager David Bell appeared to prefer him as a multi-inning reliever role for high-leverage situations.
Lorenzen was pitching his third inning in an intrasquad game Saturday when he stopped to stretch out his right shoulder. After chatting with the coaching staff, he ended his outing after 32 pitches. Lorenzen chatted with a nearby trainer after he walked off the field.
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"He’s going to hopefully resume throwing in the next week and hopefully it’s not that long of a setback for him," Krall said. "He was just taken out as a precaution."
Antone was 16 pitches into his bullpen session, his first time pitching off a mound after leaving a spring training game last Sunday with a mild right groin strain, when he spiked a pitch in the dirt. He stood on the mound and stretched his hip for a few seconds before he shut down his bullpen session.
The positive news is that Antone didn't further injure his groin and it may not have much of an affect on his throwing schedule.
"We’re going to work with him as tolerated and keep strengthening and progress as we can," Krall said of Antone.
The Reds are testing their pitching depth in camp.
Sonny Gray threw 25 pitches in his bullpen session Saturday, but he will likely begin the season on the 10-day injured list after an MRI showed mid-back muscle soreness and he needs to build up his innings.
Amir Garrett (forearm soreness) pitched in his first spring training game Saturday and Lucas Sims (tightness in right elbow) appeared in his first B game.
If Lorenzen and Antone aren't ready for the start of the season, it'll have a big impact on the rotation and bullpen.
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"We might have some longer guys in the bullpen to be able to play through the rotation depth if we have some guys starting a little slow," Krall said. "I think we're OK at this point – knock on wood – with where we are. I think some of the rotation depth might start in the big-league bullpen as opposed to just being at Triple-A.
"We want to put the best guys on the club. Obviously, you want rotation depth at Triple-A, that would be ideal. But I think if we have to put somebody on the club that is rotation depth, so be it and we'll work through it from there."
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