CHICAGO -- The Reds have a blank space in their rotation to fill on Tuesday against the Brewers, and they have a few choices. But one of them won't be September callup and recent acquisition Lucas Sims. The right-hander is unavailable because of a right teres major strain muscle strain near his shoulder.
Sims did not travel with the club to Chicago.
"He's not available to pitch right now," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said.
Sims last pitched for Cincinnati in relief on Sunday and allowed four earned runs, three hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings against the Padres. It's unclear how long he might be out, but it seems unlikely he would return this close to the end of the season. Brandon Finnegan had a left teres major injury last season and was on the disabled list for multiple months.
"Those things seem to take a while," Riggleman said. "I don't know exactly how serious it was. [Sims] pitched in that game, I think he pitched in the fifth and sixth innings, against the Padres. Afterward, he said he felt something in there."
Sims had 3 2/3 scoreless innings pitched over his other two big league appearances for the Reds after his recall from Triple-A Louisville. He was one of three pitchers acquired in the July 30 trade that sent outfielder Adam Duvall to the Braves.
In nine big league games for the Braves and Reds, Sims had a 7.47 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. In 20 Triple-A games, with 19 starts combined for the two organizations, he 4-5 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.
As for Tuesday, Riggleman, general manager Nick Krall and president of baseball operations Dick Williams were expected to meet and come to a decision soon. Sal Romano, Homer Bailey and Tyler Mahle are among the starters available to pitch.
How useful are September evaluations?
September is often a time for non-contending clubs to take longer looks at their callups. However, the Reds are unlikely to rest their regulars especially during a stretch of playing contenders. The three previous games were against the Dodgers, and Cincinnati will face the Brewers after completing the current series against the Cubs.
Riggleman noted there might be some opportunity to get extra players more playing time during the final stretch of games vs. the Marlins, Royals and Pirates. But he also didn't put too much stock in September performances.
"I think you can get high or low on a player in September. You can get high or low on a player in Spring Training and make some poor judgments," Riggleman said. "I think the information we get about our players from our Triple-A manager or pitching coach, over the course of a long season, will tell us more than a couple of innings here or there where we put somebody in a game to pitch, and he lights it up and he's unbelievable.
"For us, to see somebody get 10 at-bats and make a judgment, I think it's disrespectful to our player development people who have seen the guy for 400-500 at-bats and all that."