GOODYEAR, Arizona -- Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, the Reds de facto Opening Day starter, has been scratched from his first spring start with a sore right elbow.
The Reds don’t think it’s serious.
“We haven't re-slotted him,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He threw batting practice the last time, and he had a little bit of elbow tenderness. It's something he had with Florida before. There's no red alert at this point in time, we're just being cautious.
“It’s just a little bit of inflammation, we're treating it like that. At this point in time, we don't have any great or grave concerns, or any concerns that he won't be ready for the Opening Day roster -- notice how I put that in there?”
Left-hander Brandon Finnegan will pitch Tuesday against the White Sox.
“We’ll slot Disco back in when he's ready,” Price said.
DeSclafani would have been the Opening Day starter last year, but he strained his oblique in his final spring start and ended up missing two months.
DeSclafani, 26, went 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA after getting healthy.
This setback comes at better time than last year’s.
“You don't want to have a setback,” Price said. “Again, we're just treating it like it's a little bit of tenderness now and I'm sure there are other guys in camp that are dealing with issues, as well. We tend to be pretty cautious.”
Losing DeSclafani for any amount of time in the regular season would be a huge blow. He’s one of the three pitchers slated for the starting rotation. Him being out would mean as many as three young, unproven starters in the rotation.
