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Anthony DeSclafani was set and ready to be the ace of the Cincinnati Reds roster in 2016 up until an oblique injury put him on the shelf for over half the season.
Anthony DeSclafani was set and ready to be the ace of the Cincinnati Reds roster in 2017 after returning quite successfully from that oblique injury in 2016 to pitch well down the stretch up until a partial tear of the UCL in his throwing elbow put him on the shelf until August of this season.
Anthony DeSclafani was making his second rehab start with Class A Dayton on Thursday, in what may well have been his final rehab tune-up until returning to the Reds, assuming everything went well. Unfortunately, everything went in the crapper, as he allowed 8 hits, 8 earned runs, and 3 dingers in just 23 pitches before having trainers meet him at the mound and end his night.
DeSclafani rehab start tonight was cut short in the first inning as the trainer went to the mound with 1 out, 7 runs in.
— Dayton Dragons (@DragonsBaseball) August 3, 2017
Son of a Montgomery Biscuit.
ESPN Dayton’s Reed Ketring was there to witness things.
Anthony DeSclafani is being taken out of the game due to injury #Reds #MLB @ZachENQ pic.twitter.com/fFpU6cfLkO
— Reed Ketring (@ESPNreed) August 3, 2017
RedsMinorLeagues.com’s Doug Gray was, too.
Anthony DeSclafani saw the trainer, and after a talk, left the game. Racked up a lot of pitches in the first. May have simply been that.
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) August 3, 2017
These things, they are not good.
There’s not yet been any word on whether the issues Disco was dealing with were related to the elbow issue that’s sidelined him to this point, but that’s obviously the initial fear. Of course, since there are so damn many things that can go wrong for pitchers aside from elbow troubles, it’s troublesome even if his elbow feels better today than at any point in his life.
Where this leaves the Reds will obviously play out with the more news we receive. However, there’s no denying that DeSclafani has been - and hopefully remains to be - one of the shining bright spots in this particular rebuild, and getting him back in action as soon (and often) as possible is one of the more vital portions the Reds must get through. Whether he’s structurally sound or not after tonight, it’s obvious that this will be a setback one way or another, and that’s never good for any team, let alone the one sporting the worst starting rotation in all of baseball.
Cross your Disco fingers, folks.