Injury updates: Lowder's MRI clean; Greene throws; Geno swings

CINCINNATI -- At this point, manager Terry Francona will take all the good news he can get regarding his banged up pitching staff.

And so it was on Friday, as the Reds skipper revealed that the MRI exam earlier in the day on Rhett Lowder's right shoulder came back with encouraging news.

“He got the MRI [on the shoulder] and it was structurally good, which we're thrilled with,” Francona said prior to Cincinnati’s series opener against Houston at Great American Ball Park. “[Medical staff] gave him an injection into his AC joint to try to calm that down a little bit, because there's some clicking in there. I think what we're going to do is see how the next couple days go, potentially throw a side on Sunday, and then we'll go from there.”

Francona said the club had not yet made any decision regarding a potential injured list stint.

“I think we're going to err on the side of caution, obviously,” Francona added.

Lowder came out of Thursday’s game at Wrigley Field after making one pitch in the bottom of the fourth, an inning in which the Cubs would score seven times in an 8-3 win over the Reds. Lowder, who missed all of 2025 with right forearm and left oblique injuries, is 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts this season. He has 27 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings to go with a 1.41 WHIP.

Other injury updates

Another injured starter Hunter Greene is up to 150 feet of long tossing in his rehab program in Arizona. With Nick Lodolo returning to the starting rotation on Friday night against Houston, the Reds are hoping to return to some stability in the rotation.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s bullpen, which was dealt a blow with closer Emilio Pagan’s left hamstring injury, got some encouraging news on Friday. Francona announced that lefty Caleb Ferguson, who threw one inning of relief for Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, will throw another inning on Friday as he continues to make his return from a mild right oblique strain from early in Spring Training.

Ferguson allowed one run on two hits in his one inning of work on Thursday against Nashville.

Not every injury update on Friday concerned the pitching. Infielder Eugenio Suárez took 50 swings in the cage and fielded grounders at third base after an MRI exam on his left oblique showed it continues to heal.

“He's about 50% better,” Francona said. “So, because he's been allowed to start [baseball activities], he had 50 swings [Thursday] in the cage. He's going to continue to do his ground balls and some of the running, but he's going to stay away from the hitting for a little bit to try to encourage some of the healing to maybe go quicker.”

Francona also announced that right-handed reliever Jose Franco -- optioned before Friday’s game to make room for Lodolo’s return -- will follow Chase Petty in Sunday’s game for Triple-A Louisville against Nashville. After that, the hope is to be able to stretch him back out to a potential starting role to provide depth for Louisville.