Luke Weaver may start season on injured list, jumbling Cincinnati Reds' rotation plans

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Opening Day looms in fewer than two weeks and one of the Cincinnati Reds’ most prominent position battles remains quite unsettled.

The Reds have two spots open in their starting rotation. Luke Weaver and Luis Cessa were viewed as the favorites to become the team’s No. 4 and No. 5 starters, but Weaver may miss the start of the season because of a sore forearm and Cessa hasn’t built up his innings after pitching only two innings in the World Baseball Classic.

Weaver, who signed a one-year, $2 million contract in the winter, exited his start during a minor league game Monday with a sore forearm. He ended his outing after throwing warmup pitches before the fourth inning and he has yet to return to a mound. The Reds remain optimistic he could throw a bullpen session in a few days, but his status for Opening Day is a question mark.

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“The next couple of days will tell us a lot more,” Reds Manager David Bell said Saturday. “I think it’s going to be really close, though. I think we’d have to push pretty hard to get him ready for Opening Day.”

Cessa pitched two innings out of the bullpen in Mexico’s 5-4 loss to Colombia on March 11 and has yet to return to the mound. Mexico will face Japan in the World Baseball Classic semifinals Monday, giving him another opportunity to pitch, but Reds starters lasted four and five innings during their starts last week.

There are ways to build up Cessa’s innings after the World Baseball Classic. With an off day after Opening Day, the Reds don’t need to use a fifth starter until April 5, so a starter could theoretically remain in Arizona for an extra week to pitch in minor league games.

“It’s still possible he would be able to be in our rotation and get up to four to five innings,” Bell said. “He’s still in the mix of four or so guys for two spots. If, for some reason, that doesn’t happen, he has a spot on our staff. He can help us a reliever, but he’s still in the mix for the rotation.”

Beyond Weaver and Cessa, the Reds have three starting pitching candidates remaining in camp: Chase Anderson, Connor Overton and Brandon Williamson.

Anderson, 35, ended last season in the Reds’ rotation when they were low on depth. Reuniting with Derek Johnson, his pitching coach in Milwaukee, Anderson was a mixed bag. He was hit around in his first two outings, which inflated his numbers, but he had a four-start stretch where he allowed nine hits and five runs in 18 innings while striking out 17.

Overton was limited to 33 innings last year because of injuries, but he stabilized the rotation when it was at its worst at the beginning of the season. It’s been a rough camp in terms of results, but the 29-year-old looked much sharper in his last outing with four strikeouts and one walk in 3 1/3 innings while giving up three hits and two runs.

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Williamson is the only player remaining in big-league camp who hasn’t made his MLB debut. The 6-foot-6 lefty probably has the best pure stuff among the trio, but he’s walked six batters in his last eight innings and that was an issue that plagued him at Double-A and Triple-A in 2022.

Lucas Sims slowed by back spasm

There were concerns about Reds reliever Lucas Sims when he felt back spasms this week after missing most of last season with a back injury, but it appears it was just a scare.

Sims underwent an exam, which showed the spasm was unrelated to the microdiscectomy surgery he had last July to alleviate a bulging disc. He remains on track to be ready for Opening Day.

“At first, a little uncertainty,” Sims said. “Anything that creeps up that is vaguely similar, it makes you nervous. It already progressed pretty well. I’m moving a lot better and I’m in a better spot now. Initially, of course, with the history, it makes you a little nervous, but we’re in a good spot.”

It’s been an up-and-down spring for Sims, who should fit into a setup role when he’s pitching at his best. He’s allowed nine hits and nine runs in his last four appearances, failing to record an out against six Seattle batters on March 10.

“There were a couple of things I was trying to work on differently as far as game plan and execution,” Sims said. “It’s just getting back into that compete mode. I feel like the stuff is there. Now it’s more the pitching side of things. Remembering how to attack hitters the way I want, how to execute my pitches.”

Latest roster cuts

The Reds whittled down their roster Wednesday when four non-roster players were cut from Major League camp: Pitchers Daniel Duarte, Tayron Guerrero and Kevin Herget, and infielder Richie Martin.

Catcher Austin Romine was released Saturday, leaving the organization with Chuckie Robinson and Jhonny Pereda as its top minor league depth.

The Reds have 43 players in camp, but that number includes five players who won’t be ready for the start of the season.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds rotation: Luke Weaver, Luis Cessa, Brandon Williamson