Nick Castellanos could be back in the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup as early as Thursday after taking batting practice against third-base coach J.R. House on back-to-back days.
House did his best to stimulate Major League pitching Wednesday morning, mixing offspeed pitches with fastballs. Castellanos didn’t hit for as much power as he did Tuesday, losing the grip on his bat during one swing as it flung toward the third-base line.
Castellanos went to the bullpen with a helmet and a bat after his 20-minute batting practice round to presumably stand in the batter’s box as relievers threw their side sessions.
“If today goes as well as yesterday, or even better, then we might be a day away from seeing him back,” Reds manager David Bell said Wednesday morning. “Still, we’ve gone this far, I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but today is a big day.”
Castellanos, who leads the National League with a .329 batting average, hasn’t started a game since he was hit by a pitch on his right wrist on July 16. He’s been on the 10-day injured since July 22 when an MRI showed a microfracture in his wrist.
He’s taken batting practice on the field before games three times since Sunday as he continues to test the strength in his wrist.
“If you watch him, he’s hitting the ball hard, but there is just a different level of strength,” Bell said. “One of the concerns when you have a hand injury is you probably can get by if you don’t have equal strength in your hand, but what happens is you start compensating and your swing can change. We just wanted to make sure it’s all the way back to full strength so when he comes back, he doesn’t have to worry about that.
“(Tuesday) was much better from a strength standpoint, really close to 100%. He made a lot of progress from New York and (Tuesday), so two days back-to-back. If he can produce the same type of swing and strength and recover well, then it’ll be time to go.”
Aristides Aquino and Shogo Akiyama have received more playing time in Castellanos’ absence. Max Schrock started in right field during Tuesday’s 7-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Along with taking batting practice in recent days, Castellanos shagged balls in the outfield. It was an opportunity to take live reads off the bat and he’s done some throwing.
How has his wrist handled throwing?
“That was another hurdle he had to get over,” Bell said. “He’ll throw again (Wednesday) just to make sure, but I think that’s kind of right alongside the hitting from a strength standpoint. That was something he had to get through as well.”
REHAB UPDATES: The Reds have several players on rehab assignments at Triple-A Louisville and nearing returns to the big-league roster.
Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer for Louisville on Tuesday and he’s now 5-for-13 at the plate on his rehab assignment. He was scheduled to serve as a designated hitter Wednesday.
Nick Senzel is 1-for-6 in three games in center field on his rehab assignment and he was scheduled to sit out of Wednesday’s game. Lucas Sims, who was at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday, is scheduled to pitch Wednesday and Thursday. Sims has tossed three scoreless innings on his rehab assignment.
Michael Feliz had his rehab assignment transferred to Louisville on Wednesday. He allowed five runs in three innings at High-A Dayton, pitching at a lower level to align with his pitching schedule.
HEMBREE STRUGGLES: Heath Hembree suffered his second blown save of the season Tuesday, allowing a three-run homer to Jorge Polanco with one out in the top of the ninth inning.
Hembree has allowed six runs on five walks and two hits in his last three innings.
“It’s a tough role he’s in,” Bell said. “Hitters really bear down. Up until the last couple of times, he’s done a really, really nice job for us, and he’s going to continue to do a good job for us. I think just the last couple of times out, first couple guys getting on base with the walks. Heath, one of his strengths is throwing strikes and attacking the hitters, and he’ll get back there. But it makes it tough when the first guy, couple guys get on in those situations in the ninth inning.”
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