Spiers hits IL with nagging right shoulder injury

BALTIMORE -- Before Sunday's series finale vs. the Orioles, the Reds placed right-handed pitcher Carson Spiers on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. The move came one day after Spiers threw 94 pitches over four innings of relief in a 9-5 loss to Baltimore.

It turned out to be an injury Spiers was dealing with much longer than the club was aware of.

“We called him, and we were going to send him back [to Triple-A Louisville]. Before that even happened, the trainers came in and they gave me the heads up," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "So we talked to him, and he kind of fessed up that it had been bothering him actually since Spring Training.

"I told him, ‘A couple of thoughts. One is, I admire your guts, and two, I want to wring your neck for not telling us.’ He tried to gut it out, and you appreciate that, but also, you don’t want to hurt somebody.”

Cincinnati selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Randy Wynne from Louisville to replace Spiers on the active roster. The team's 40-man roster is back to capacity. Wynne's stay could be short since lefty starter Nick Lodolo is slated to be activated on Monday from the paternity list.

Spiers was scheduled to return to Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon and undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his injury.

“It’s just been a little nagging thing in the back of my shoulder," Spiers said. "It’s frustrating, but it will be good to get a sense of clarity on what it is and go from there.

“It’s one of those things when I’m playing catch, I kind of feel it. But once the adrenaline kicks in, it kind of goes away. Blood gets to the area. It helps calm it down a little bit. Once that adrenaline stops and jabs at me a little bit, I want to go get it figured out and go from there.”

Spiers was recalled from Louisville on Friday and was the originally scheduled starter in place of Lodolo for Sunday. But he was needed from the bullpen on Saturday after Hunter Greene lasted only three innings. Francona also noted that he had three relievers unavailable to pitch in that game, and he had to let it ride with Spiers on the mound for as long as it took.

Over his four innings of relief, Spiers threw 94 pitches. He allowed four earned runs and five hits -- including back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning -- with four walks and three strikeouts to raise his ERA to 6.08 in three games, which includes two starts after opening the season in the rotation.

“That’s the part I love. It’s fun," Spiers said. "It’s a chance to go out there and let the guys know you got their back sort of thing. I loved taking the ball in that opportunity. I wish I would have had a quality four innings for us. But I’m glad I could get through four innings for us to help today and give us a chance to win the game. Also at the same time, I’ve got to look out for myself sometimes.”