Lodolo seeking healthy '25 season after spring debut
Abbott, Lowder continue working towards return to field
TEMPE, Ariz. -- For his first spring outing of 2025 on Wednesday, Reds left-handed starter Nick Lodolo looked out of sync as many of his pitches tailed high and outside. Ultimately, Lodolo finished the second inning as he continued to build for the regular season.
¡°It was just taking off on me," Lodolo said of his pitches. ¡°First time back in a game, you're getting your feet wet again. As we keep going and build up here, [I¡¯ll] just keep trying to get back into pitching shape and sync. Obviously, am I happy with it? No. It¡¯s spring and that¡¯s the point of today.¡±
In the Reds¡¯ 9-4 win over the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium, Lodolo threw 35 pitches over 1 2/3 scoreless innings with one hit, three walks and two strikeouts. In the bottom of the first inning, he issued a full-count leadoff walk to Mike Trout, but picked him off and caught him stealing. Following a Taylor Ward two-out single, back-to-back walks loaded the bases.
With Lodolo having thrown 26 pitches, manager Terry Francona took advantage of the Spring Training rule and pulled him mid-inning. He was able to return for the bottom of the second inning and retired the bottom of the lineup in order.
¡°It felt good to be back out there," Lodolo said. "Not how you draw up the first inning of spring but at the same time, I¡¯m happy I got to go back out there. I felt better in the second.¡±
¡°That was good to see," Francona said. "We wanted to cut him a little short in the first so he could go out and get through the second, and he did good.¡±
Over 21 starts and 115 1/3 innings last season, Lodolo went 9-6 with a 4.76 ERA. His year was filled with frustration because of four separate stints on the injured list with a left calf injury, a left groin strain, a left index finger blister and a sprained left middle finger. That all came after a fractured left tibia limited him to seven starts in 2023.
If Francona was concerned about Lodolo's durability for the upcoming season, it didn't show.
¡°The things that have happened aren¡¯t necessarily arm related. It¡¯s a blister or his foot," Francona said. "I woke up excited this morning because I knew he was going. We don¡¯t want to talk him into getting injured. He¡¯s had some quirky things happen, but he had a good offseason and looks terrific.¡±
News and notes
? For the first time since returning from an illness, rotation candidate Andrew Abbott got on a mound for a side bullpen session and pitched without issue. Abbott was already on a slower progression in camp than others after a left shoulder strain ended his 2024 season six weeks early. No date has been determined for when he will advance to facing hitters in live BP.
? Another rotation candidate, No. 2 prospect Rhett Lowder (right elbow), is continuing to throw on flat ground, but a date for returning to a mound remains to be determined.
¡°Lowder is doing really well. He¡¯s pleased, we¡¯re pleased," Francona said. "We¡¯ll just let him go through his progression.¡±
? For the second game in a row, third baseman Noelvi Marte was on the field for the latter portion with mostly backups or Minor Leaguers. Marte, who committed an error on Monday against the Dodgers, is coming off a poor 2024 season in which he batted .210 with a .549 OPS over 66 games while being error-prone defensively. And that came after the 23-year-old served an 80-game suspension for a positive test of performance-enhancing drugs.
Francona felt there was nothing to read into Marte's lack of playing time with the regulars. The club has also been giving Gavin Lux, Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand opportunities at third base.
"We can¡¯t play 11 guys at one time and I don¡¯t want guys to go too long without playing," Francona said. "I explained to the guys early on that, ¡®You may get at-bats in different ways.¡¯ By no means is he in the penalty box. We¡¯ve got a bunch of third basemen."
Marte notched his first hit of spring against the Angels with a two-run triple to the right-center field wall in the eighth inning.