Manager David Bell said Sunday that Lodolo (back) has been cleared to restart a throwing program but won't be ready to rejoin the rotation in the near future, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
On a positive note, Lodolo appears to be progressing in his recovery from a back strain after the Reds paused his throwing program for the past week, but the team is likely to have the rookie left-hander ramp up slowly from the injury. Since he hasn't pitched in a game since April 24, Lodolo will almost certainly require a minor-league rehab assignment consisting of at least one or two starts once he completes his build-up program, so he might realistically be three or more weeks away from making his next appearance for the Reds. The murky recovery timeline may make it tough to justify holding Lodolo in most leagues, even though he delivered two straight promising starts before the injury cropped up.