Cincinnati Reds
Face of the Franchise
Reds activate Nick Lodolo, place Graham Ashcraft on injured list
Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-news/48469/reds-activate-nick-lodolo-graham-ashcraft-injured-list
The Cincinnati Reds added back one of their best arms ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, officially activating lefty Nick Lodolo after he missed the last three weeks with blister issues.
While that’s incredibly good news, it came at the expense of one of their best relievers. Graham Ashcraft, who’d moved to the bullpen at the start of this year after spending most of his career as a starter, was placed on the injured list with the always-ominous forearm strain with no concrete diagnosis yet shared.
The Reds announced the move on Twitter.
Prior to exiting his August 4th start against the Chicago Cubs with the blister, Lodolo had been on an incredible roll. His month of July was particularly spectacular, as he logged 33.1 IP across 5 GS and allowed just 7 ER in that time (1.89 ERA) – work that included an absurd 38/4 K/BB. His 27.6% K-BB% in that month ranked 3rd among all qualified MLB starters behind only Zack Wheeler and Paul Skenes.
To date, Baseball Reference lists Lodolo as the 2nd most valuable Red so far this season with 4.4 bWAR (behind only Andrew Abbott’s 4.7).
With Ashcraft out, the Reds will likely slide Nick Martinez into his fireman/bulk-relief role once again, though since Martinez started just last night he’s surely unavailable for at least a day or two. Fortunately for the Reds, Thursday is a day off as they travel back to Cincinnati from their 3-team road trip out west, so the hope is that he’ll be ready in some capacity when they open their 9-game homestand Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
For now, though, it’s on Lodolo to hit the ground running. The Reds are at risk of being swept for the first time all season should they drop Wednesday’s series finale in Dodger Stadium, and he’ll be sharing the mound with one Shohei Ohtani while leading Cincinnati’s charge.
Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-news/48469/reds-activate-nick-lodolo-graham-ashcraft-injured-list