Nick Lodolo's getting closer to a return but Reds' short-term outlook is tricky

This is one of those injury updates that sounds good at first, but feels a little more complicated the more we think about it. Nick Lodolo is making progress. And a side session is a good sign. The idea that he could face live hitters by midweek tells us Cincinnati is at least moving in the right direction.

But the Reds are still stuck in an awkward middle ground where the long-term news feels fine while the short-term reality is still uncomfortable.

Lodolo is still more than a week away and the Reds are probably looking at more Brandon Williamson in the meantime. Right now, Williamson feels like exactly the kind of pitcher who can make you look silly one turn through the rotation and then have you side-eyeing the entire plan five days later. That’s not even meant to be a cheap shot. Its just the truth of what his early 2026 has looked like.

Nick Lodolo update puts more pressure on Reds starter Brandon Williamson

Williamson is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA through three starts, posting 10 strikeouts and eight walks over 15⅓ innings. The stat line still looks a little shaky. But the upside is obvious. Just look at his dominant outing against the Miami Marlins, when he worked 6⅔ scoreless innings and gave up only three hits. That version of Williamson looks like a real weapon.

But then there was the next start against the Los Angeles Angels. Williamson walked six batters in four innings, threw just 49 of 93 pitches for strikes, and generally looked like a player who was fighting himself as much as the lineup across from him. He limited the damage well enough, and the Reds still got the win, but let’s not do the thing where the team result washes away the actual concern. When a starter is handing out that many free passes, it can’t be used as a tiny footnote. 

What makes this harder to pin down is that there are real reasons to believe in him. People around the Reds have talked about Williamson looking like a different pitcher now that he’s healthier, and there have been flashes that support that. The stuff has looked better. The confidence has looked better at times too. But being a “different” pitcher only really matters if that version starts showing up consistently, and we aren’t there yet.

So while the Lodolo update is undeniably good news, it doesn’t totally calm the room. Instead of worrying about whether Lodolo is trending the right way, the Reds now have to survive the days in between. That’s where this becomes tricky. Because every positive Lodolo update raises the sense that help is coming, but it also shines a brighter light on how uneasy the bridge to that return still feels.

Right now, Williamson is that bridge. Some nights, he looks strong enough to carry the weight. Other nights, he looks like the exact reason Cincinnati cannot get Lodolo back soon enough.

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