Why Nick Lodolo's return to Cincinnati Reds bigger than the long-awaited moment

Forget Saturday’s start.

Nick Lodolo’s return to the Cincinnati Reds’ rotation is about a lot more than that, for himself and his team.

It’s as much about the promise of the Reds’ season and the career promise of maybe being the Reds’ best pitcher.

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” said Lodolo, who last pitched on May 6 — also against the Chicago White Sox — before Saturday.

“It’s more that I truly move one start at a time, five days, and get ready to pitch,” he said. “When you haven’t pitched in a year, you kind of have to re-take that approach, especially when you’re getting back into it.”

Reds manager David Bell, in particular, did not want to downplay the significance of Lodolo’s accomplishment Saturday and the significance of that moment. But the bigger picture also was on his mind.

“It’s never about one game,” Bell said. “But it is important because he is coming back after a long road.

“We know how important pitching is to us,” Bell said, “and Nick Lodolo is a big part of our team and part of our organization, and we want him healthy on the mound. He’s really good.”

Ace good.

That’s been the book on him since he broke in as part of the Big Three rookies in the Reds rotation in 2022, along with Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft.

That’s why it’s hard to overstate what it might mean to the playoff-minded Reds this year if Lodolo is able to hold up and show out for the final 5 1/2 months after they saw the consequences of missing him when the games matter last summer and down the stretch.

“I definitely think I could have helped. And I think that that’s why we were trying to get me back,” said Lodolo, whose rehab from the stress reaction-turned-stress-fracture in the tibia involved multiple delays and setbacks last season.

“It was unfortunate that it happened again,” he said. “But we’ve got it under control now, so it’s just move on and make a run this year. That’s all I can do.”

Lodolo, 26, was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA three starts into last season, but struggled for four more starts (6.29 final ERA for the season).

Between the leg injury last year and back issues as a rookie, he has just 26 career starts and 137 2/3 innings.

And some of the most electric stuff on the staff — with an upper-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss slurvy breaking ball.

“So we want him out there,” Bell said. “We want him out there for himself, too. He deserves it after all the hard work. He’s had some tough breaks along the way.”

Nick Martinez moves to the bullpen for now to make room in the rotation. Bell said that move’s not necessarily long-term as Martinez has a lot of experience in both roles and could return to a starting role at any point in the next few weeks depending on health and roster scenarios.

For Lodolo, for now, it’s just about being back and “happy to be a part of the team again,” he said.

“That’s the one thing about when you’re going through rehab,” he said. “I was there and stuff, but when you’re doing rehab it’s by yourself. You’re not a part of the team, and you’re away.

“Especially when you see them last year, playing well and making a run, and you want to be a part of it,” he said. “I think that was the biggest, hardest thing for me.”

The best part of the long road back: being able to compete again, he said.

The best part is the moment. The now.

That’s part of why he’s not looking too far down the road, even as he sees the promise of October in the distance for the team — especially if he does what he hopes he does this season.

“That’s definitely the plan,” he said. “When you think about it, usually if team goals are met that means individual goals are usually met. So that’s where it’s at; it’s just really going out and trying to put us in a position to win a game.

“That’s all I can control. So that’s what my focus is.”

Nor now, he just wants to rebuild his every-five-days routine and rhythm.

“Just getting yourself back into it when you haven’t done it for a year, it’s definitely different,” he said.

“It’s the first time I haven’t done it in a year. And hopefully the last.”

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will Cincinnati Reds season get boost with Nick Lodolo's return?