GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- After undergoing an evaluation for his problematic right shoulder in New York, Reds starting pitcher Justin Dunn learned that he would have to be shut down for an extended period. This marks the third straight year that Dunn has endured a season with shoulder issues.

Dunn, who had hoped to compete for a rotation spot this spring, was seen by orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Altchek.

“The good news is I don’t need surgery, which is always a beautiful thing. It gives me a chance to pitch this year," Dunn said. "The unfortunate news is I’m going to be shut down for a while. The timeframe he mentioned was a couple of months."

Dunn's injury is in his right subscapularis, which is a muscle in the rotator cuff. It's been a problem since 2021, when the right-hander was with the Mariners. He was limited to 50 1/3 innings in 11 starts for Seattle that season. 

On March 14 of last year, the Reds acquired Dunn along with Jake Fraley and pitching prospects Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips, from Seattle for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez. Cincinnati was aware of Dunn's shoulder injury, but felt that the prognosis mixed with his upside lessened the risk.

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Dunn, 27, made his Reds debut on Aug. 8 vs. the Mets at Citi Field and was 1-3 with a 6.10 ERA in seven starts. In mid-September, he was placed on the injured list with right shoulder tightness, ending his season.

Doctors gave Dunn a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection last year to help with healing, but the pitcher said that was not the course of action recommended this time by Altchek.

"We’re just going to let the body heal itself," Dunn said. "Supposedly when you do that, it gets stronger. It shouldn’t happen again. Ironically, he’s only seen one other person with a similar injury and it was Doc Gooden, which was comforting because it’s someone I look up to. This is the plan that he did with Doc and it worked. Doc was able to pitch, I think, for another eight years after he had it happen. We’ll just kind of wait and see now and start rehab."

Before heading to New York to see the doctor, Dunn had been preparing himself for the possibility of surgery.

"He explained the surgery and it scared the [crap] out of me frankly," Dunn said. "He said, ‘I don’t want to do this. I don’t think you need it. You’re too young. You have a lot of baseball ahead of you.’ That’s for when your back is against the wall, and you’re fighting for a couple of more years [type of] situation. I was very thankful to hear that. Now I just have to get with the team and get a plan of action for what we’re going to do."

With Dunn sidelined, Connor Overton, Luis Cessa, Luke Weaver, Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt remain in the competition for the final two spots in Cincinnati's rotation.

More items from Saturday at Reds camp

• Non-roster outfielder Henry Ramos has impressed in camp and has a chance to earn one of the open outfield spots. Ramos, who entered the day 5-for-10 with two doubles and four runs scored, got the start in center field vs. the Royals in split-squad action on Saturday.

• Center fielder Nick Senzel (left big toe) participated in a simulated game on Friday and took some at-bats. Senzel was not permitted to run the bases or play defense, but he did track pitches.

• Utility player Matt Reynolds, who has been dealing with minor strains in both quadriceps muscles this week, also played in the simulated game, but isn't ready for Cactus League action. Manager David Bell believed that Reynolds, a non-roster player in camp, is still in position to compete for a spot.

"He still has time as long as he keeps going in this direction. He still has time," Bell said. "He has had some Spring Training. If he doesn’t have any more setbacks, he has a shot."

• Reds camp felt quiet on Saturday morning, with the other half of the team playing in split-squad games vs. the A's this weekend in Las Vegas.

"Smaller groups, so you spend more quality time," Bell said. "That group is doing well. Here it’s more relaxed and you get more individual work in. More conversations."