Cincinnati Reds shutdown Brandon Finnegan for the rest of 2017

The Cincinnati Reds have shutdown any chance that Brandon Finnegan had to return to action in 2017.

After being the most reliable starter for the Cincinnati Reds in 2016, Brandon Finnegan has spent 2017 on the DL.  In 2016 Finnegan made 31 starts, pitching 172 innings.  This year Finnegan made 4 starts, pitching 13 innings and was the de facto ace heading into the season.

This is what happens to the Reds’ pitching staff every year.  A pitcher makes it through a seemingly normal season making all his starts and then can’t get healthy the next season.  It happened to Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani, and Brandon Finnegan.

When a pitcher leaves, nothing bad seems to happen.  Look at Mike Leake.  Stay in Cincinnati and you may as well plan to start the season on the DL.

It’s a good thing that Scott Feldman is on a one year deal because he’s next.  He is the only pitcher to make all 18 starts this season.  Tim Adleman is second with 16.

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Finnegan’s season ending injury is a torn labrum, in his non-throwing shoulder.  This sounds familiar because it happened to Devin Mesoraco.  Looking at the injuries for the Reds, there are trends which make the training and therapy teams for the Reds look bad.

The Reds’ pitchers don’t get healthy during the off-season.  Rehabbing players have secondary injuries to other body parts.  The whole thing looks suspicious.

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Brandon Finnegan isn’t pitching the rest of the season for the Cincinnati Reds because he hurt his shoulder boating.

The official word from the Reds is that Finnegan tore his non-throwing labrum boating, possibly falling while getting off of the boat.  This was while he was on the DL for the second time this season with essentially the same injury.  Injuries happen, but repeat injuries shouldn’t.

If there is good news here, it is that the Reds can plan Finnegan’s rehab to prepare him for next spring.  He has all off-season to let his teres major muscle get back into form.  Whether that rehab is rest or work, Finnegan has six months to get ready.

Of course he also has to recover from surgery to repair his torn non-throwing labrum.  Theoretically, this rehab is the more difficult of the two.  Any time you have to rehab from surgery it becomes difficult.

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This makes the Reds’ plan for 2018 and beyond all the more fluid.  The Reds have Luis Castillo, a recovering Bailey and a series of question marks for their starting rotation.  Hopefully, DeSclafani and some of the young pitchers can fill-in the blanks between now and the end of the season.