Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will embark upon his final test before being activated from the disabled list this week, as he’s slated to catch back-to-back nine-inning games Tuesday and Wednesday for Double-A Pensacola.

Mesoraco will also catch nine innings Sunday before resting a day. He previously caught back-to-back games this past Wednesday and Thursday, but he exited after seven innings in the second game.

Mesoraco has hit just .211 with a .579 OPS in 19 plate appearances on his rehab assignment as he works to build durability following shoulder and hip surgeries last season.

“We’ll have a chance to take a look to see if he’s ready,” manager Bryan Price said.

Right-hander Homer Bailey isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list until June, but Price said the wait may be a bit longer than that. Bailey is currently playing catch at 180 feet, which puts him close to being able to throw off a mound. Still, Price said the team will be cautious with the veteran, who is coming off surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow.

The procedure was Bailey’s third in the last three years.

“I would say it’s more realistic to look at him in the second half of June as opposed to the first half,” Price said.

Fellow righty Anthony DeSclafani is even further behind that. DeSclafani was shut down in spring training with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, and had a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing. It’s been more than a month without throwing, but DeSclafani will rest for another couple weeks.

At that point, he’ll undergo an MRI and other scans to determine if the ligament has healed enough to return to throwing.