Inside The Reds

Terry Francona Sheds Light on Plan for Nick Lodolo and Rest of Reds Starting Rotation

The Reds could have a talented and deep starting pitching rotation in 2025

Alex Frank

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo (40) delivers a pitch in the first inning of the MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024.
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo (40) delivers a pitch in the first inning of the MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
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CINCINNATI -- Led by right-hander Hunter Greene, who will start on Opening Day this Thursday, the Reds enter the 2025 season poised to have a quality starting rotation.

The Reds starting pitching rotation is talented, but it's also young and, to a degree, inexperienced.

Reds manager Terry Francona discussed his approach with the starting rotation during a recent interview with Thom Brennaman.

"I don't think you make proclamations because guys haven't done it yet for a full year," Francona said. "[It] doesn't mean they can't, doesn't mean we don't love them.

"Nick Lodolo, we keep him out there, the numbers are going to take care of themselves. We have some depth because when you think you have enough pitching, you better go get more."

Greene led the Reds with 150 1/3 innings pitched in 2024, finishing eighth in National League Cy Young Award voting. He was one of just two Reds starting pitchers to make 25 or more starts in 2024, with Greene making 26 and left-hander Andrew Abbott making 25 starts. Abbott led Reds starting pitchers with 10 wins.

Greene is also the only Reds starting pitcher to throw 150 or more innings in a season over the last two seasons. That goes back to big picture of how the starters in the Reds pitching rotation have not endured a full 162-game season.

In Francona's first season with Boston Red Sox in 2004, the Red Sox traded for Curt Schilling in the previous offseason and also signed closer Keith Foulke. Schilling had long been a staff ace in Philadelphia and Arizona, while Foulke had led the American League with 43 saves in 2003 with the then-Oakland Athletics.

Schilling would win 21 games in 2004, finishing second in AL Cy Young voting, and was one of all five Red Sox starting pitchers to throw over 175 innings that season and one of four starting pitchers with 30+ starts.

Foulke, meanwhile, saved 32 games and was a key part of Boston's bullpen and their incredible performance in the Postseason, where the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

Francona managed three AL Cy Young Award winners in Cleveland. Corey Kluber won two, in 2014 and 2017, and Shane Bieber won in 2020.

You can watch Francona's conversation with Brennaman below:

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Alex Frank
ALEX FRANK

Alex Frank brings his passion for Reds Baseball and sports media to Reds On SI. With a commitment to original, detailed and accurate reporting and inside, Alex keeps Reds fans informed with the latest breaking news and other information fans need to know about their favorite team. Alex has years of experience, covering the NFL, NCAA and more for a plethora of outlets including SB Nation, CLNS Media, Associated Press, The Wright Way Sports Network, Chatterbox Sports and The Front Office News. While a student at the University of Cincinnati, Alex served as Bearcast Media's Sports Director for three years while hosting weekly talk shows and podcasts and broadcasting Bearcats Football and Men's Basketball games.

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