Reds left-hander Brandon Williamson made his third Minor League rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday night.
He’s been sidelined with left shoulder fatigue since late April.
Here’s what you need to know:
How did Williamson perform?
Williamson tossed two scoreless innings, scattering two hits and walking one batter while recording two strikeouts. He threw 31 pitches (19 strikes).
With Louisville and Toledo scoreless heading to the bottom of the second inning, the game was suspended due to rain.
The Reds had originally hoped for Williamson to throw around 60 pitches. He previously threw 39 pitches in his first rehab start and 34 pitches in his second outing.
What’s next?
Williamson, 28, looked like a potential breakout candidate after he pitched to a 1.65 ERA through five Spring Training games, earning a coveted rotation spot. Could he recapture that form and be a meaningful contributor to the Reds' rotation down the stretch of the season?
There were plenty of durability concerns for a pitcher who went 560 days between big league starts while recovering from Tommy John surgery. This wasn’t Williamson’s first shoulder issue, either; he missed much of the 2024 season due to a left shoulder strain.
Williamson threw 44 1/3 innings between Spring Training and the regular season before shoulder fatigue cropped up. In the regular season, he had a 6.11 ERA across 28 innings in six starts before landing on the IL at the end of April.
What else?
The Reds are on the periphery of the playoff picture, entering play on Tuesday sitting 6 1/2 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot.
As Cincinnati looks to put together a run, the rotation could use reinforcements. Since the All-Star break, Reds starting pitchers have posted a 4.76 ERA that ranks sixth worst in the Majors. Hunter Greene’s season-ending right elbow injury left a significant void, though left-hander Nick Lodolo did return Tuesday night following a month-long absence with recurring blister trouble.
At minimum, a healthy Williamson would supply some much-needed pitching depth.