Cincinnati Reds starter Tyler Mahle hits injured list as trade season heats up

The Cincinnati Reds are not good this year, nor do they look the part of being good next year, either.

Tyler Mahle, the veteran righty of the Reds, is only under team control through next season.

Considering the idea of this Cincinnati Reds club ‘spending money’ was laughed completely out of the tri-state area over the winter, these are all things that point towards the 28-52 Reds shopping Mahle as the August 2nd trade deadline looms. Of course, that’s if he’s still able to throw baseballs, which is now called into question with his placement on the injured list with a sore shoulder, per the Reds themselves.

If it’s only 15 days out, that’ll put him as able to return as early as July 18th, but that’s the beginning of the MLB All Star break. So, that means the earliest we could truly expect to see him on the bump again is July 22nd, the Reds first game back after the break (assuming he’s the one to lead them out of the break). If that’s the case, and if he’s completely fine, he could theoretically squeeze in three starts prior to the trade deadline to show the rest of the world he’s back to being Tyler Mahle in full-force once again.

Whether or not the intention by the Reds was to deal him this summer, or not, it’s a frustrating setback for the 27 year old regardless. Considering there’s a bit of a lack of top-tier arms reportedly on the market this summer anyway, and with Oakland starter Frankie Montas now injured, too, it sure seemed like the Reds might be maximizing their return by shopping both Mahle and Luis Castillo this July. Mahle’s 4.48 ERA is a bit of a step back from his prior season’s work, though his 3.55 FIP is actually an improvement over his 3.80 mark from his breakout 2021 season. On top of that, he’d been rounding into form lately, with a 2.58 ERA and 3.25 FIP across his last 7 starts (45.1 IP).

Get well soon, Tyler.