Justin Dunn, out with shoulder injury, doing his best to remain positive and patient

It was just throwing catch before a game, miles from pitching on a big-league mound, but it was an important step for Justin Dunn last week.

Dunn hasn’t pitched in a game since June 17, 2021, and after a few setbacks with his right shoulder, he’s happy to celebrate milestones. Last week was his first time throwing since he was traded to the Reds in March. 

“It’s nice that I’m throwing again, so I feel like I have some purpose in life,” said Dunn, laughing. “It’s obviously tough getting traded over and then you can’t do anything.”

Dunn, a right-hander, was one of the four players the Cincinnati Reds received from the Seattle Mariners in return for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez. He was pitching well last summer, owning a 3.75 ERA in 11 starts, before his shoulder injury shut down his season.

The Reds knew Dunn was injured when they completed the trade. He’s under team control through the 2025 season, so they have several years to work with him. He’s on the 60-day Injured List with a right subscapularis muscle injury.

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“It’s been tough,” Dunn said. “I’m a baseball junkie, so it’s tough sitting on the side. I wish I could go pinch-run or something, play shortstop, I don’t know. But it’s just been tough to sit here and watch.”

Dunn attempted to return during the Mariners’ playoff push last season, but his shoulder never cooperated. The Mariners tried to bring him back as a reliever, knowing there would be a chance at a shorter rehab period if he needed to pitch only one inning at a time, but his season was over when he threw only four pitches on a rehab assignment in September. 

After Dunn’s last pitch on his rehab assignment, a swing-and-miss, he walked behind the mound, grimaced, and signaled for a trainer. Everyone in the stadium knew what that meant for Dunn’s season. The catcher gave him a hug on the mound.

The weird part about Dunn’s injury is he could play catch and throw long toss without feeling pain in his shoulder. Once he stepped on the mound, he knew his arm wasn’t moving the right way.

“I’m trying not to get too ahead of myself,” Dunn said. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse and try to do too much too soon and flare it up. That was the mistake I made last year. I’d start to feel good, step on the gas a little bit and it wasn’t ready. Just trying to follow what our training staff is having me do, go through the steps step-by-step and hopefully pick my head up at the end and be pitching here in a couple of months.”

Dunn, the No. 19 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the New York Mets, was rated as a top-100 prospect by MLB.com before he made his debut in 2019. There are some scouts who believe he’s a better fit for the back of the bullpen when his velocity plays up with his curveball and slider.  

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The Reds will think more about his role when he’s healthy, but Dunn said he’s looking forward to working with pitching coach Derek Johnson, a coach he heard a lot about from Sonny Gray.

“God works in mysterious ways, man,” Dunn said. “I’m going to go with this injury got me over here and it’s for a good reason. Every kid in the country wants to go to (Vanderbilt), so I knew about DJ from there. I was a little guy, so I definitely wasn’t on DJ’s radar.”

Rehabbing from the shoulder injury in Cincinnati, Dunn wants to make the most of it. He watches other pitchers during pregame bullpen sessions. He’ll talk mechanics with assistant pitching coach Eric Jagers. He will look over scouting reports on hitters, which is helpful to him because he’s not familiar with most National League hitters.

“Any time you can get with fresh eyes, hopefully, they can pick something up,” Dunn said. “Especially with eyes that have had some of the best arms in the game throughout their career and developed some really good arms. To be with those guys is a blessing. I’m really excited for when I can get on a mound and start working with them.”