Reds Announce Unfortunate Development After Nick Lodolo News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 3:29 PM ET

The Cincinnati Reds are attempting to make a late-season push for the final wild card spot in the National League, entering Wednesday 3.5 games behind the New York Mets.

The Reds have been playing without one of the team’s most impactful starters in Nick Lodolo, who was sidelined with a blister on his left index finger since early August.
Since then, he’s been actively recovering and last week pitched a three-inning simulated game.

The 27-year-old southpaw has posted a 3.05 ERA over 23 starts this year, going 8–6 and striking out 124 batters over 129.2 innings pitched—doing an exceptional job of inducing weak contact.

Reds Lose Key Arm Ahead of Nick Lodolo’s Return

Ahead of Wednesday's series finale with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Reds announced that Lodolo would return (most likely on an innings/pitch limit as he builds his workload back up) and start as Cincinnati looks to avoid the sweep.

Unfortunately, the team also announced a disappointing corresponding move, “The #Reds today activated from the 15-day injured list LHP Nick Lodolo and placed on the 15-day injured list, retro to 8/25, RHP Graham Ashcraft (right forearm strain).”

The #Reds today activated from the 15-day injured list LHP Nick Lodolo and placed on the 15-day injured list, retro to 8/25, RHP Graham Ashcraft (right forearm strain) pic.twitter.com/cQZ6uEF39E
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 27, 2025

Graham Ashcraft has been excellent for Cincinnati, working high-leverage innings out of the bullpen in the seventh inning and beyond. He transitioned to the bullpen in 2025 after struggling to establish himself as a reliable starter. Since then, he’s struck out significantly more hitters and lowered his ERA to a career-best 3.72 in 58 innings.

This injury comes at an unfortunate time for Cincinnati, who will need Ashcraft’s services in any potential postseason run. At this point, a return to the active roster in 2025 is not guaranteed.

The Reds were recently within 1.5 games of the Mets, but after dropping two to the Dodgers and the Mets winning two against the Phillies, the gap has widened.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: