Cincinnati Reds Starting Pitcher Getting Season-Ending Surgery on Tuesday

The Cincinnati Reds are chasing a playoff berth this season and they'll have to pursue it without starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft, who is undergoing season-ending surgery on his toe.

As the Cincinnati Reds battle for their first playoff spot since the COVID 2020 season, they'll have to do it without starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft, who is out for the rest of the season.

The righty will undergo season-ending toe surgery on Tuesday. He had a stress reaction in his right big toe and will be ready for spring training.

The following quote from manager David Bell comes from an MLB.com article:

“It is tough," manager David Bell said. "It’s just out of his control. Now, he’ll get the surgery done [Tuesday] and have a normal offseason and get back healthy for Spring Training. There’s just nothing that can be done.”

The 25-year-old finishes the year at 7-9 with a 4.76 ERA in 26 games. He struck out 111 batters in 145.2 innings. He had a 2.58 ERA over his final 12 starts.

Hunter Greene is the only remaining member of the Opening Day rotation that is healthy right now, and even he missed a significant portion of the season with injury as well. The team is running a four-man rotation right now with Greene, Brandon Williamson, Ben Lively and Andrew Abbott.

The Reds are currently 79-73 and tied for the final wild card spot in the National League. They are tied with the Cubs for that spot and are 0.5 games ahead of the Miami Marlins.

The Reds will battle the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.

Kenta Maeda (MIN) goes up against 33-year-old righty Fernando Cruz (CIN).

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