This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CINCINNATI -- Pitcher Jose Franco was already an early cut from the Reds' spring roster on March 6 and after breaking camp, he had no reason to expect the phone call all Minor Leaguers dream of getting.
Franco, Cincinnati's' No. 12 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, was in Louisville with his wife to prepare for the start of the Triple-A season. He was just waiting to head to the ballpark for a team workout when the Reds put starting pitcher Nick Lodolo on the injured list with a left index finger blister and called up Franco.
“I got to Louisville Monday with my wife, and Tuesday we were in the apartment and [Louisville manager] Pat Kelly called me and said, 'You need to go to the big leagues tomorrow,'" Franco said on Saturday. "I said, ‘Really?’ like five times.
“I was very happy for the opportunity. I was very surprised because it was so early in the season. But I’m ready for the season and ready right now.”
Franco, 25, was added to the club's 40-man roster for the first time in November. At Spring Training, he had a 3.86 ERA in three games, including two starts.
“Obviously he is very young," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "We liked the way he threw this spring. Sometimes, it’s dependent on when some guys threw. It’s not like we’re going to be using him back-to-back [days] out of the bullpen.”
Franco was signed out of Maracay, Venezuela, in 2018 for only $10,000, which did not draw much attention. He missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament surgery on his right elbow.
After splitting 2024 with Single-A Daytona and High-A Dayton, the right-hander turned a corner in '25 and got on the radar screen pretty quickly.
In 31 games, including 26 starts combined last season for Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville, Franco was 10-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 118 strikeouts over 110 innings while opponents batted .210 against him. That included a 7-2 record and 2.76 ERA in Chattanooga before a June 24 promotion.
“Last year, I worked on both sides of the plate," Franco said. "I played winter ball [this year] in Venezuela, and that helped me for Spring Training. At Spring Training, I learned from other pitchers and I think that helped me a lot.”
Before Lodolo's blister, Reds starting pitching was already thinned by Hunter Greene undergoing arthroscopic surgery on March 11 to remove bone chips from his right elbow. The club decided to fill the final two spots with all three of the remaining candidates in Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns and Brandon Williamson. Francona called it a "six-for-five" plan rather than a six-man rotation.
COMPLETE REDS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Once Lodolo went down, that plan was tabled. But the three young starters will need protection as their innings and pitch counts will be monitored closely. That's where Franco could factor when he makes his big league debut. He's already stretched out for multiple innings.
“He’s our length guy. Because really there’s nobody really out there that provides length," Francona said. “If we use him, we’d revisit it to see what kind of shape our bullpen is in.”
Franco wasn't viewed as available during Thursday's Opening Day vs. the Red Sox. He was able to soak in his first day in the Major Leagues and spent it in the bullpen with the other relievers.
“I was very happy, excited, nervous," he said. "I liked it because I worked for that.”