Justin Dunn placed on IL with shoulder tightness, may not return in 2022 Reds season
ST. LOUIS – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Justin Dunn spent a couple of days away from the team this week because of an illness, but now that he’s feeling better, he won’t be able to take the mound for a different reason.
Dunn was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right shoulder tightness. Manager David Bell didn’t rule out Dunn returning this season, but he’ll miss at least two weeks with three weeks left in the season. The IL stint is retroactive to Monday, so Dunn isn’t eligible to return until Sept. 27.
Acquired from Seattle in the Eugenio Suárez/Jesse Winker trade, Dunn missed more than a calendar year because of shoulder injuries before returning to the Major Leagues in August. He still dealt with shoulder soreness, pulled early from one start, and his fastball velocity is down by 1.5 mph compared to last year.
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“He threw a side (Wednesday) and he had a little more significant tightness,” Bell said. “The same thing he’s been feeling kind of ever since he came back. Just a little bit worse. It might’ve had something to do with how he was feeling. He actually drove back from Milwaukee, so it was a little bit of a different couple of days post-start, so hopefully that had a lot to do with it. But it was significant enough for the IL stint.”
Dunn, who turns 27 years old next week, was scheduled to start Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds didn’t name a starter in his place, but they called up Raynel Espinal, who pitched 2 1/3 innings in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
The plan is for Dunn to play catch Saturday. If he can ramp up without his shoulder bothering him, there is an outside chance he returns for the final week of the season.
“It’s something that has to get better, so he doesn’t have to deal with it anymore,” Bell said. “I think he’ll only come back to pitch this year, and I think that’s important to come back to pitch this year, if the doctors really think that it’s in his best interest and Justin agrees with that.”
In seven starts this season, Dunn had a 1-3 record and a 6.10 ERA. He’s yielded 32 hits and 17 walks in 31 innings while striking out 21. He’s allowed 11 homers. It’s the lowest strikeout rate of his career and the highest hits and homer rates.
It’s not a certainty Dunn has a spot in the 2023 rotation if he’s healthy, which is why the Reds wanted to see him over the last two months of the year. There are scouts who believe he’s a better fit for the bullpen, though that is assuming his velocity would tick up in shorter outings.
Dunn, once rated as a top-100 prospect, had a 5-4 record and a 3.94 ERA in 25 starts with the Seattle Mariners from 2019-21.
Reds injury updates: Graham Ashcraft to make another rehab start
When Graham Ashcraft took the mound for the first time in a month because of right biceps soreness, pitching on a rehab assignment at Double-A Chattanooga on Wednesday, he struck out the side in 11 pitches.
The rest of Ashcraft’s rehab start wasn’t as easy. He struck out six in three innings, permitting four hits, two runs and one walk in 53 pitches.
Ashcraft will make his next rehab start Monday at Triple-A Louisville. He’s expected to rejoin the Reds’ rotation afterward, which lines up around Sept. 24, and it would allow him to make as many as three more big-league starts this year.
"I spoke with him (Wednesday) night," Bell said. "He was excited about getting back on the mound, competing and he felt really good."
Reds bullpen moves: Luke Farrell out, Dauri Moreta in
With eight games in a six-day stretch because of two doubleheaders this week, the Reds shuffled relievers in their bullpen Thursday.
They promoted Dauri Moreta from Triple-A and designated Luke Farrell for assignment. Farrell made two relief appearances with the club.
“That was the message to Luke, we’re in a position now, where we are in the schedule and the amount of games, we have to do what is in the best interest of the team,” Bell said. “He only pitched twice here. He did a good job of being available and being ready. You don’t really make a true evaluation two times out. It’s just something we had to do for our team, and Moreta has pitched well when he’s been here, especially as the season has gone. He’s gotten better while he’s been here.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds injury updates: Justin Dunn, Graham Ashcraft
