Bailey threw 29 pitches, 20 for strikes, in his March 22 outing. He walked a batter and struck out two. It was reported that most of Bailey's pitches were in the 90-91 mph range, while reaching 92 at times. Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Homer Bailey might have knocked on wood a thousand times after saying how smooth his rehab process has gone this spring. But, after pitching two scoreless innings on March 22 in a minor league game, the 28-year old Cincinnati Reds right-hander couldn’t help but be enthusiastic.
“It’d say we’re on a pretty good track,” Bailey said, following his start. “We haven’t had any setbacks. This whole thing’s gone pretty smooth.”
When the Reds’ season ended last September, Bailey was strolling around the ballpark with a hefty brace on his right arm. After having season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm, Bailey knew he faced a lengthy rehab process.
The best news for Bailey is that the prognosis made back in September that he’d miss one or two starts to begin this season still holds true. Barring any unforeseen issues, the La Grange, Texas, native will rejoin the big-league club in late April.
Bailey threw 29 pitches, 20 for strikes, in his March 22 outing. He walked a batter and struck out two. It was reported that most of Bailey’s pitches were in the 90-91 mph range, while reaching 92 at times.
“The elbow felt great,” Bailey said. “Even before the game, I went to (Reds manager) Bryan (Price) and said ‘Let’s mix it up, start playing around’. We mixed in some sliders. With the speed of the game, it was real nice to be out there. It was a real hot day, so that helped.”
Bailey, owner of two career no-hitters, went 9-5 last season with a 3.71 ERA in 23 starts prior to the injury. He’s 58-50 with a 4/17 ERA in 166 career starts for Cincinnati.
Price said he’ll remain cautiously optimistic about Bailey’s return and already is planning to fill his spot in the rotation for at least two turns.
“It’s still up in the air,” Price told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’re waiting to see how he bounces back and how we want to go about his rehab.”
But, Bailey said he’s approaching the final weeks of spring training as if he’s preparing for the regular season, and not rehabbing an injury.
“With the workload, we’ll start with two innings and build it up from there,” Bailey said.
