GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Optimism that third baseman Eugenio Suárez will be ready for Opening Day increased a little more for the Reds. On Monday, manager David Bell revealed that Suárez will make his 2020 spring debut in the lineup on Friday vs. the Rockies. “The plan is for him to

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Optimism that third baseman Eugenio Suárez will be ready for Opening Day increased a little more for the Reds. On Monday, manager David Bell revealed that Suárez will make his 2020 spring debut in the lineup on Friday vs. the Rockies.

“The plan is for him to DH on Friday,” Bell said. “If that was to get adjusted, it would be sooner than that. Most likely, though, it will be Friday at the latest.”

Suárez, who was second in the Major Leagues last season with 49 home runs, underwent right shoulder surgery in late January after he was injured in a swimming pool accident at his Florida home. He came to Spring Training on time, but he was restricted from throwing or swinging a bat with both hands.

On Feb. 27, Suárez began a light throwing program, and hitting off a tee with both hands soon followed. Over the weekend, he was taking full batting practice on the field with his teammates.

“It looks normal,” Bell said. “It looks really good. He’s not having any issues with swinging. That’s why I said if [the playing schedule] was to get adjusted, it would just be sooner based on how good he looks right now.”

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DeSclafani pleased

During the Reds' 3-3 tie with the White Sox at Camelback Ranch on Monday, starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani worked four innings allowing one earned run, three hits and one walk, striking out two.

In the bottom of the second inning, DeSclafani gave up Yasmani Grandal’s leadoff double to right field and a one-out single lined to center field by Nomar Mazara. James McCann followed with a single before DeSclafani was able to escape without further scoring.

“I thought it went well,” DeSclafani said. “I’ve got to get ahead of guys a little bit more consistently. When I got two strikes, I didn’t put guys away. I think that was the only thing I wasn’t really pleased about. But it’s my third outing, so I think it will come around.”

DeSclafani has given up one run in two Cactus League starts but allowed two earned runs and three hits in three innings vs. the White Sox in a "B" game on Thursday.

VanMeter out

Competing for a bench spot, Josh VanMeter will miss at least three or four days because of pain in the anterior muscle near the shin on his left leg. During the Reds' weekend series vs. the Cubs in Las Vegas, VanMeter had to exit after an awkward swing at an Alec Mills off-speed pitch on Saturday.

“I was trying to run on Saturday and couldn’t get much going,” VanMeter said on Monday.

VanMeter, who did well as a rookie utility player last season with eight home runs in 95 games, was having a good spring, batting .400 (6-for-15) with one homer, one double and four walks.

“There is a lot of opportunity [at Spring Training], but you’ve got to take care of your health,” VanMeter said. “It’s better to take care of it now than to try and push through it and potentially make it worse and miss more time. Yeah, it stinks especially because I got off to a really good start to spring. I felt like all the hard work I put into the offseason was kind of showing.”

Up next

The seventh overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo will make his spring debut on Tuesday when the Reds play in split-squad action. Lodolo, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s top prospect and No. 48 overall, will be among the pitchers who work after starter Luis Castillo in the 4:05 p.m. ET game vs. the D-backs in Goodyear.

Shogo Akiyama and Joey Votto will be in the lineup. Meanwhile, Tyler Mahle will start on the mound vs. the Rockies over in Scottsdale at 4:10 p.m. ET, with Nick Senzel scheduled to be the DH.