Unnerving injury development unfolding with Reds pitcher

The Reds announced that left-hander Wade Miley has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left flexor strain, retroactive to June 17. Right-hander Connor Phillips has been recalled to take his place on the active roster. Righty Chase Petty has also been added to the taxi squad. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported on the Phillips promotion earlier Friday. Miley was the scheduled starter for Saturday’s game but Wittenmyer reports that Petty will now be making that start.

The club has not yet provided any information about the severity of Miley’s injury, but it’s an unnerving development. It’s always concerning when a pitcher’s throwing arm is injured, and that’s especially true in this case. The 38-year-old Miley underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and only recently returned to the mound with seven minor league starts and three major league appearances.

Time will tell if this injury is significant or not, but either way, the Reds rotation will take another hit for at least a few weeks. They already have Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder and a few other arms on the IL and now Miley joins them.

Miley’s injury leaves Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, Brady Singer and Nick Lodolo in four rotation spots. It seems Phillips will provide an extra arm for Friday’s game, but he may get optioned back down Saturday to make way for Petty.

Petty, 22, is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. The Reds have called him up twice this year to make spot starts without good results. He has allowed 13 earned runs in 5 1/3 big league innings thus far. He has spent the rest of the year pitching in Triple-A with a 2.76 earned run average. His 26.9% strikeout rate is quite good, but his 11.4% walk rate is on the high side.

It’s unclear if Petty is going to stick in the rotation or if this is another spot start. Prospect Chase Burns is dominating Triple-A hitters through two starts at that level. He’s not on the 40-man roster but could perhaps get a call soon.