Cincinnati Reds right-hander Sonny Gray could start the season on the injured list after back pain forced him to skip his spring training outing Sunday.
Gray said he has dealt with back spasms this month while trying to pitch at full intensity. He plans to wait several days before picking up a ball, and he said the delay in throwing could spoil his plans to be the Reds’ Opening Day starter.
“It’s nothing that anyone, I think, is overly concerned about,” Gray said. “It just makes sense. You go back and forth and it’s one of those things. I feel OK. Do I keep going? Do I keep throwing?
“The way we’ve all kind of thought about it was, do we take five or six days right now and completely try to knock it out so you’re a week behind to start the season or eight days or whatever it ends up being? Or do you just keep going and maybe it turns into a larger issue and then maybe you miss 10 starts?”
If Gray is sidelined, Luis Castillo likely would replace him as the Reds’ Opening Day starter on April 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 31-year-old Gray went 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 11 starts last season. He is 75-63 with a 3.54 ERA in 197 career games (188 starts).