Reds manager Terry Francona had a message on left-hander Nick Lodolo's injury.
The Cincinnati Reds have dealt with multiple injuries to the team's pitching staff early in 2026. Manager Terry Francona offered insight the status of one of those arms, left-hander Nick Lodolo, following his latest setback.
Lodolo opened the 2026 season on the 15-day injured list due to a recurring blister on his left index finger, an issue that has now followed him for multiple seasons. The situation became more complicated after a recent rehab outing, where he was forced to exit early despite showing promising signs beforehand. Fortunately, he is still going to continue throwing and keeping his arm active.
“Today, he's going to throw plyo balls. Without the seams on the plyo ball, we can keep his arm moving. The one good thing about this is his arm has continued to move. It hasn't been like he has been down a ton. We just have to figure it out. We've got to let that thing heal some more,” Francona said.
The update reflects both caution and optimism. While Lodolo is still able to keep his arm active, the focus remains on allowing the blister to fully heal, something that has proven difficult given the nature of his pitching style.
The setback came during a rehab start on Thursday with Single-A Daytona, where Lodolo initially looked dominant. He retired all eight batters he faced, striking out four, before the blister flared up again around his 40th pitch in the third inning, forcing him out of the game.
This has become a recurring issue. Lodolo dealt with similar blister problems in both 2024 and 2025, and it continues to linger into 2026. The challenge is that the problem is closely tied to his slider, which is his most effective pitch, making it difficult to simply eliminate the root cause without impacting his performance.
As a result, his timeline has shifted from an early April return to more of a day-to-day situation as the team works to find a long-term solution.
When healthy, Lodolo is a key piece of Cincinnati’s rotation. The 28-year-old is coming off the best season of his four-year MLB career, posting a 3.33 ERA with 156 strikeouts over 156 2/3 innings across 29 appearances in 2025. His consistency played a major role in helping the Reds reach the postseason.
His absence is especially significant now, with Hunter Greene expected to miss extended time as well. That has forced others to step up, including Brandon Williamson, Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder, who have helped stabilize the rotation in the meantime.
Still, the Reds know they will need Lodolo at full strength if they hope to return to the playoffs. For now, the focus remains on patience and ensuring that when he does return, the issue is truly behind him.