Reds activate Tyler Stephenson prior to Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays

It’s been exactly one month to the day since Tyler Stephenson landed on the injured list with a broken thumb, one that resulted from a foul ball smashing it whilst he was catching. At the time, the expectation was that he’d miss 4-6 weeks, meaning him returning today falls smack dab in the middle of that prognosis.

He’s back, folks, and the Reds finally appear to have most of what was supposed to be their revamped 2022 lineup active and healthy at the same time (aside from Joey Votto, who’s still sitting out with a sore back).

With just 20 games remaining until the August 2nd trade deadline, this means that the Reds might finally be formidable enough for the next three-plus weeks to win more games than they lose! They’ll surely rip things apart at the seams at some point towards the end of that juncture, with Luis Castillo and Tyler Naquin and Tommy Pham out the door, but at least we’ll get an All Star Game-interrupted chance to see what this club could’ve maybe sort of possibly looked like in a perfect world all year had everything under the sun not pulled the rug out from underneath it. Neato!

Hunter Greene will toe the rubber this afternoon in the second game of the Reds series against the Tampa Bay Rays, one that will hopefully be as entertaining as the opener. Greene’s ERA starts with a ‘6’ these days, though, so who knows. Drew Rasmussen will take the bump for Tampa, he being one of the big pieces sent to the Rays in last year’s Willy Adames trade with Milwaukee.

First pitch is set for 4:10 PM ET, and Ty Steves will be hitting 5th.

Reds Lineup

Rays Lineup