'It's not too late': Why Savior Season starts Sunday for Cincinnati Reds, Hunter Greene

Don’t look now, but it’s Savior Season for the Cincinnati Reds.

If you didn’t know it before Wednesday, the Reds confirmed it when they designated for assignment journeyman pitcher Luke Weaver, who gamely, if not always impeccably, filled the back-end spot in a Reds rotation that has been in tatters for months.

The luxury of being able to part with Weaver was created by the successful completion of an injury-rehab assignment by Opening Day starter Hunter Greene – who finished a two-month stretch on the injured list strong with 5 2/3 one-hit innings for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, striking out nine.

The same night, the Reds’ No. 2 starter in their opening rotation, left-hander Nick Lodolo, pitched a near-flawless three innings for Double-A Chattanooga in his second injury rehab start.

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When Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo return, it's Savior Season for Reds

That both look so firmly on track to rejoin the Reds’ rotation Sunday and two turns through the rotation later, respectively, “definitely played into” the Weaver move, manager David Bell said.

And that makes Hunter’s first pitch on Sunday the official start of the 38-game Cincinnati Reds Savior Season.

The start of two guys pulling the Reds’ season out of an August inferno immolating playoff hopes at a 3-10 pace this month (through Tuesday) – two guys the front office banked on being the difference-making additions they didn’t acquire at the trade deadline.

“It’s definitely going to be impactful getting them back,” Bell said, “but it’s the entire team that we have to keep working every day to get back where we want to be.”

Too late for that. The in-house bridge to Greene and Lodolo as they worked back from hip and leg injuries, respectively, turned out to be a bridge too far given how the team has slumped since the trade deadline.

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The only question is whether it’s too little, too late by the time the Reds’ biggest pair of big, young rotation arms is back in the mix – whether the critics are right when they say there’s not enough time left for Greene and Lodolo make an impact on the playoff race.

“They need to check their math on that one,” catcher Luke Maile said of such critics. “No, it’s not too late. It’s not too late at all. We’ve got to improve; we’ve got to play better. But it’s not too late.

“You can do the math on how many starts they’re going to get for us out of the last 40 games coming down the stretch,” Maile added. “If they’re strong, which I expect them to be, it’s going to be a shot in the arm for us.”

After Greene’s start Sunday, Lodolo is expected back two turns in the rotation later, giving the Reds a full month with both in the rotation for the final, full month of the season, alongside at least Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson.

That would give them up to 15 combined starts, depending on whether the Reds employ a six-man rotation at any point in that stretch. For what it’s worth, the every-fifth-day schedule would line Greene up for a Reds playoff opener.

Talk about Savior Season.

“As important as they are to our team, I wouldn’t want to put that all on them,” Bell said. “It’s going to take all of us to play well.”

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To be sure, the Reds’ scoring machine behind their surge into first place in June and July took a 1-2 punch to the gut with the recent injuries to Jonathan India (foot) and Jake Fraley (toe). During an 11-game stretch leading up to Wednesday’s game against the Guardians, they lost eight times, scoring in those losses three, three, three, three, two, four, two and zero runs.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the reason is for lack of offense lately,” infielder Spencer Steer said. “Could be guys are pressing, trying to do too much. Could be guys just going through slumps, and that’s how baseball works. Or could be a mixed bag.

“It also helps to have India and Fraley back hopefully soon.”

Like we said, Savior Season.

Fraley’s scheduled for another MRI Friday to determine the progress of his stress fracture. India, whose plantar fasciitis has him shut down from running for two weeks has one scheduled next week to evaluate his progress.

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Meanwhile, it's a different Reds world since the first two pitchers to start for the team this year last made starts.

The last time Greene pitched for the Reds, June 17 in Houston, he earned the seventh win during the 12-game winning streak that tied the longest in modern history for the franchise – last done in 1957. Joey Votto hadn't played a game yet this season.

The last time Lodolo pitched, on May 6, Matt McLain, Brandon Williamson, Andrew Abbott, Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were minor-league prospects awaiting big-league debuts.

“I’m ready to get going. I can only go so fast,” said Lodolo, who sounded buoyed Wednesday by Tuesday’s strong rehab start ahead of his move up to a Triple-A game for his next one. “We’re definitely right in there, and that’s all we can ask for.

“Everyone’s done a great job without us. I think that will help from that standpoint, too,” he said. “It’s going to take everybody. It’s not just going to be Hunter and I. It’s not like all of a sudden just wins are going to start flowing in.”

But if they’re back as strong as their rehab processes suggest so far? And the rotation is whole and healthy for a monthlong stretch drive?

Could that make it Savior September? A month that holds enough promise to dream on the kind of run that even their 18-9 June didn’t hold?

“I really hope so,” Steer said. “It’s really important getting hot at the right time. If we can just start playing some better baseball and get some momentum going into the last stretch here and start playing hot again, we have a shot to be where we want to be at the end of the season.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hunter Greene returns Sunday for the Reds, trying to save the season