Ready or not, here it comes
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The Cincinnati Reds open the 2014 season against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on March 31. (Photo credit: Dayton Daily News)[/caption]
The Cincinnati Reds continue to face health issues within its pitching staff with only two weeks until the Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Starting pitcher Mat Latos and relievers Jonathan Broxton and Sean Marshall have yet to appear in a game this spring, although Broxton is scheduled to take the mound against the Indians on Monday.
Latos was held out of last season’s National League Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with bone chips in his throwing elbow. He underwent offseason surgery to repair the issue and was healthy going into Spring Training. However, after tweaking his left knee while throwing a bullpen session prior to Feb. 14, Latos underwent a second offseason operation, this time to repair a torn meniscus. He began throwing and rehabbing only five days after his operation, but it is still uncertain whether he will be ready by Opening Day. Latos participated in his first live session of camp on Friday when he threw 20 pitches of batting practice to teammates Brayan Pena and Chris Nelson.
Latos has been a staff workhorse since coming over from the San Diego Padres prior to the 2012 season. In 65 starts over the past two seasons, he has recorded a 28–11 record with a 3.32 ERA and 372 strikeouts in 420 innings pitched.
Broxton, who underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm in August 2013, is also eyeing his comeback. Much like Latos, the big right-hander has been rehabbing without issues for the past couple of weeks and will be the first to pitch in Spring Training as he is scheduled to throw against the Cleveland Indians this afternoon. He recently threw a 38-pitch bullpen with batters standing in the box on Friday.
Broxton, who was first placed on the disabled list on June 15, made 34 relief appearances for the Reds last season and posted a 2–2 record with a 4.11 ERA. He returned from rehab on August 7, but was shut down for the remainder of the season a short while after.
Marshall is making the slowest progression of the three. He has been bothered by a sore left shoulder for the past year or so and threw from the mound for the first time of spring camp on Friday during a 22-pitch bullpen.
In 2013, Marshall made only 16 relief appearances and posted a 0–1 record with a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings of work.
It appears Alfredo Simon will fill the final spot in the starting rotation if Latos isn’t available come the beginning of the season. Simon has made four starts this spring and has posted a 1–1 record with a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched.
If Simon is forced to fill a rotation spot until Latos returns and with Broxton and Marshall’s availability still pending, there could be as many as three openings in the Reds bullpen at the beginning of the season.
Here are some of the more deserving candidates.
Trevor Bell — RHP
2013 (Pensacola): 0–1, 1.72 ERA, 27 G, 17 SV, 31.1 IP, 21 H, 8 BB, 37 SO
2013 (Louisville): 1–0, 2.45 ERA, 3 G, 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 SO
Spring Training: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 5 G, 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 SO
Jose Diaz — RHP
2013 (Louisville): 3–4, 1.66 ERA, 44 G, 13 SV, 54.1 IP, 35 H, 21 BB, 60 SO
Spring Training: 0–0, 1.80 ERA, 5 G, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 SO
Pedro Beato — RHP
2013 (Pawtucket): 5–3, 2.98 ERA, 34 G, 5 SV, 51.1 IP, 46 H, 24 BB, 45 SO
2013 (Boston): 1–1, 3.60 ERA, 10 G, 10.0 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
Spring Training: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 5 G, I SV, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 SO
Nick Christiani — RHP
2013 (Louisville): 6–5, 3.86 ERA, 49 G, 3 SV, 56.0 IP, 49 H, 17 BB, 49 SO
2013 (Cincinnati): 0–0, 2.25 ERA, 3 G, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 SO
Spring Training: 0–0, 1.50 ERA, 5 G, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB (1 HBP), 5 SO
Lee Hyde — LHP
2013 (Pensacola): 3–4, 2.28 ERA, 42 G, 2 SV, 47.1 IP, 33 H, 17 BB, 32 SO
2013 (Louisville): 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 13 G, 7.1 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 SO
Spring Training: 0–0, 1.42 ERA, 6 G, 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
