Cincinnati Reds Spring Training Injury Update

Cincinnati Reds Pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is injured, again.

After spending all of 2017 on the DL, it took Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani three weeks to become injured again. He is out indefinitely after suffering a left oblique strain. This occurred Friday during the spring training game against the Rangers. DeSclafani, 27, missed opening day for the past two years and the Reds now expect him to miss it for the third year straight.

DeSclafani had a stellar start against the Rangers, allowing one hit and one walk in three innings. Things were starting to look up for both the staff and fans, with the former star finally returning from injury. However, things took a turn for the worse when the Reds announced Sunday that DeSclafani suffered an injury again with no timetable for return.

DeSclafani did not appear to struggle while he was pitching. He pitched three innings, which is normal for a spring training start. The Reds announced the oblique strain two days later after an MRI.

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Beat writer John Fayman said that players are usually out for roughly six weeks with this type of injury. However, DeSclafani also had a left oblique strain at the beginning of 2016 and did not debut until June that season. Right now, the hope is that it is a minor injury and he will be back soon, much quicker than last time.

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Not even an hour after they announced this, the Cincinnati Reds removed pitcher Brandon Finnegan from the game against the Mariners on Sunday

Another pitcher also missed nearly all of 2017.  The Reds removed Brandon Finnegan after facing two batters on seven pitches. Many fans assumed the absolute worst before it was announced that he had a lateral forearm spasm. Luckily, this is not what benched him in 2017. His left shoulder is fine.

If it was just spasms, he should be fine to pitch in early April.

However, this could also be an effect of an underlying injury, in which case he may need surgery. He could miss several months of the season again. The team doctors will examine Finnegan over the next several days to determine the next course of action. For now, we can only hope that this doesn’t affect his future with the team.

Next: The Reds look like a 90-loss team again

This is a recurring theme with the Reds.  For the past three seasons they have been unable to field a healthy starting rotation.  These injuries are just an extension of that issue.