Reds Q&A: Lodolo dishes on career year, health, rotation and more

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CINCINNATI -- Plagued by stints on the injured list since his 2022 big league debut, Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo had a mostly healthy 2025 season. As a result, the left-hander showed the kind of results many have thought he was capable of.

Lodolo was 9-8 with a career-best 3.33 ERA last season. He pitched 29 games with 28 starts and 156 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings -- all career highs. The only injury issue was a three-week IL stint in August with a left index finger blister.

On Tuesday, I guest-hosted the Reds Hot Stove League on the Reds Radio Network with Mike Petraglia, and we had Lodolo on as a guest to discuss his 2025 season, his attendance at Redsfest this weekend and the season ahead.

Some questions and answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.

What have you thought about the moves the team made in the offseason? Does that get you excited for the 2026 season?

Lodolo: Yeah, for sure. A lot of the guys haven't been on the team, but they're guys we've competed against. We've seen them play, so you know what they bring to the table. It gets you excited, but overall, you start to hit this point in the offseason, and you start itching to get going.

What was the key for you to have a strong 2025 season?

Lodolo: I think [there are] a lot of things you could probably attribute it to. I would say, No. 1, I really had a full offseason to worry just about getting my body in a spot to be able to do that. The last year and a half before that was just trying to get myself back onto the field, and that was a struggle. Having that full offseason really helped to chase that. When you're hurt, you have time to figure out how to do things to make your body recover better and things like that. You learn things and put it all together. Last year was just a benefit of that plan coming together.

From a player's point of view, what is Redsfest like for you, getting to interact with fans?

Lodolo: It's a lot of fun. Growing up as a kid in California, we never really had anything like that. To see a community get so excited for the start of baseball season and everything, it's something I thought was pretty special the first time going to it. I kind of get the feeling at the time, and you feel the excitement. And it's always good to see your teammates and everything. I'm looking forward to this coming weekend.

How important is it to have rotation stability, especially the top four of Hunter Greene, you, Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer?

Lodolo: It's nice, for sure. The one thing I like is [that] every guy is different from a standpoint of how we pitch and everything. I think it gives us a good look, matchup to matchup, day to day. We've got a lot of options, and a lot of good options. That's definitely exciting. It gives you confidence that no matter who's going out there, we've got a good shot to win the ballgame.

How has pitching coach Derek Johnson helped you?

Lodolo: DJ's been great, especially for me personally. I've really enjoyed working with him. He's taught me a lot. The one thing I think DJ does really well is with those different styles, he doesn't group everybody into the same bucket. His thing is, "Be good at what you're good at." So he's going to take your strengths and try to maximize those instead of trying to get everyone to throw the same pitch.

The 2025 team had 83 wins. It fought for its playoff life to the very end and clinched a postseason berth on the last day. Obviously, the season ended a little shorter than you wanted, but what was that experience like for you individually, and what did it do for the team going into next season?

Lodolo: I think it's good. It gives us that little taste of what it's like. Obviously, it ended shorter than we wanted it to. But we can say we've experienced it now and everything, so we know what to expect. … I'm excited for it. I think it probably serves a bigger purpose than we even realize right now, getting that experience.