DENVER – The Cincinnati Reds will be without starting pitcher Nick Lodolo for at least a month and it’s possible his leg injury could sideline him for much longer.
Lodolo returned to Cincinnati last weekend after he was placed on the 15-day injured list with left calf tendinosis, scratched from a start Saturday. A followup MRI exam Monday revealed a stress reaction in his left tibia. He’s in a walking boot and will be reevaluated with another MRI exam in two weeks.
“He’s still at the beginning stages of being in a boot and letting it heal,” Reds Manager David Bell said. “He’s pretty limited right now. Limited him on purpose, so he can heal before he takes any next steps. I think the next big milestone will be another MRI in two weeks. At that point, if he’s made progress, we’ll know a lot more about what the overall timeline is going to be.”
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Lodolo, the 25-year-old lefty, is shut down from baseball activities, so it will take multiple weeks once he’s deemed healthy to build up his arm to return to the Reds’ rotation. He attempted to pitch through leg soreness since the end of spring training, and he was outfitted with orthotics in his shoes last week in an attempt to solve the pain in his calf.
The pain didn’t disappear and now the Reds will be without one of their young rotation mainstays for a chunk of the season.
Lodolo had a 2-1 record and a 6.29 ERA through seven starts, leading the league in homers allowed (10) and hit batsmen (seven). After three strong outings to begin the year, Lodolo gave up 32 hits and 20 runs in his last 17 1/3 innings (10.38 ERA).
It’s the third straight season Lodolo has dealt with an injury. He was sidelined for a couple of months last year with a back strain. In 2021, he was limited to 50 minor league innings because of blisters and a left shoulder strain.
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