It’s been exactly a week since Rhett Lowder made his return to the mound for AAA Louisville, and exactly five days since we wondered aloud if that meant he’d be potentially available as a member of the Cincinnati Reds staff before season’s end.
That potential hit a serious stumbling block yesterday, unfortunately. Lowder was scratched from what would have been his second start since returning from the forearm and oblique injuries that had sidelined him for the bulk of 2025, but soreness in his shoulder
still resonated from his first outing and the club scratched him at the last minute, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.
While the good news is that the MRI results returned with nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder, it’s hard to see any scenario now where there’s enough time to build him up with enough strength and stamina to join a big league bullpen – let alone make a start – before the end of this regular season.
It’s a damn tough pill to swallow for both Lowder and the Reds, surely. Their 1st round pick from 2023 made the leap all the way to the big leagues last year after breezing through minor league offenses, and even acquitted himself well in the majors in the limited time he was there.
Now, it looks as if he’s going to end up filing a mostly lost 2025 regular season, though there’s still some optimism that he’ll be back to 100% in time to pile up some innings in Arizona Fall League play. The AFL has been used by the Reds often in recent years to get some reps for players who’d spent far too long on the sidelines with injuries during seasons, with Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand having done that just last year. It’s good enough competition to not just gauge his health, but also how good his stuff is playing after so much time on the shelf with arm problems, and the hope now is that he’ll be able to at least complete calendar year 2025 with the Peoria Javelinas on a high note.
For the Reds, though, that’s one potential boost for their playoff push now off the table.
