We don’t yet know when, or if Jose Franco will take the mound for the Cincinnati Reds, but we do now know he’s going to have a very good opportunity to do so within the next two weeks.
With Opening Day set for tomorrow – Thursday, March 26th – and with Nick Lodolo needing a trip to the injured list while his blister recovers, Franco has been added to the team’s Opening Day roster as depth. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the news earlier on Wednesday, noting that Caleb Ferguson was also predictably
placed on the 15-day IL to begin the 2026 season.
Franco was added to the 40-man roster over the winter after a 2025 season that saw him pitch to a 3.11 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 118 K and 54 BB in 110.0 IP split between AA Chattanooga and AAA Louisville. It was his second straight solid season after he missed all of 2023 while recovering from arm surgery, and while he’s been used almost exclusively as a starter he’ll now be tasked with a depth role to begin 2026.
In essence, Cincinnati is leaning into carrying him as a long man in the ‘six for five’ starter scenario they originally planned to use before the blisters and injuries to the rest of the starting staff. Given that Nick Lodolo will be out for nearly two weeks, he’s almost assured to get at least one chance to pitch in bulk while on the active roster.
Congrats to Jose on making the bigs!
Here’s the complete Opening Day roster:
Catcher (2) – Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino
Infield (6) – Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Eugenio Suárez, Nathaniel Lowe
Sal Stewart (1) – Sal Stewart
Outfield (4) – Will Benson, Noelvi Marte, TJ Friedl, Dane Myers
Starters (6) – Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, Brandon Williamson, Jose Franco
Bullpen (7) – Emilio Pagan, Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, Pierce Johnson, Brock Burke, Sam Moll, Connor Phillips
