As the Cincinnati Reds made their final decisions on the roster ahead of tomorrow’s opening game against the Detroit Tigers, they also left us some unfortunate news. It appears Anthony DeSclafani is dealing with increased strain on his pitching arm, and has been placed in IL for 10 days to start the season, the team announced on Twitter this afternoon.
The #Reds today placed RHP Anthony DeSclafani on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Monday (right slight strain plus strain). The 30-man roster is 28 players. pic.twitter.com/LwUUbLrYrZ
– Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 23, 2020
It’s a frustrating setback on multiple levels, really. Obviously, the Reds have built what appears to be a rock-solid rotation, and losing any of their key gears is a bummer, especially so close to the start of the suspended season. On the other hand, it must be incredibly frustrating for Disco, who is entering his final year before free agency and has already spent a lot of time in IL / DL in his career due to various oblique forearm issues.
Fortunately, the injury appears to be minor, with The Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale noting that, coupled with the retroactive nature of the IL placement, it means that Disco can only miss a start at best. (For the record, the teres major is a muscle in the lower / back of the shoulder, more or less.)
This would seem to give Tyler Mahle a chance to get started, something that is far from being a horrible scenario if he is in his game, as he often is. That’s one of the best parts of how this Reds club has been built, as it has some pretty good depth options for when these unfortunate scenarios emerge.
With that transaction on the books, the Reds announced their Opening Day list, especially using only 28 of the 30 available seats. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the news.
It’s a mix of 14 pitchers and 14 position players, and while it’s certainly questionable not to fill the full 30 spots on the roster when given the chance, it’s worth noting that the active roster is mandated to drop to just 28 to all teams in two weeks, anyway. So while the Reds are apparently losing depth at the moment, it may just be a case of having trusted the decisions that would have to be made soon, anyway.
There are also no real surprises on the list. We had already heard that Nate Jones and Brooks Raley would be added, while it was also clear that Cody Reed and Kyle Farmer had also made the club. Probably the closest mistakes on the 40-man list were pitchers Joel Kuhnel, Matt Bowman, and Jose De Leon, while Alex Blandino and Aristides Aquino were the most notable position players not included. They will all stay in shape at the Prasco facility in Mason, OH, assuming they will be ready for a call at some point when needed.
Reds baseball starts tomorrow, folks, even if we’re going to have to wait a little while at Disco.
Go Reds They are our favorite team.
