Reds' Homer Bailey feels fine after minor-league start

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — In the first inning of his first game action of the spring, Reds right-hander Homer Bailey threw a pitch and yelled out in disgust. Catcher Brayan Pena immediately asked if he was OK, worrying about Bailey's surgically repaired forearm.

Pena wasn't alone, everyone gathered to watch. A crowd that included big-league pitching coach Jeff Pico, owner Bob Castellini and several big-league players held their breath for a moment.

It took Bailey a second to understand what Pena was asking, because the last thing on his mind was how his body felt.

"I missed a spot there, I was trying to go in, but missed it. I got a swing and miss, but I was mad that I didn't make the pitch," Bailey said. "I didn't think about (my forearm). I might have yelled more than one 'F' word there if it had hurt again there."

He did yell another "F" word later, but again it was a missed spot, nothing more. The setting of a minor-league game on the back fields against the Indians' Triple-A team allows for more people to overhear what's said on the field.

"It's a good thing we pitch in front of a lot of fans, or you'd hear it every pitch," Bailey joked.

In addition to feeling good, Bailey pitched well. He threw 29 pitches in two innings of work, with 20 strikes. He gave up a double on a ball sliced down the right-field line by a right-handed batter, walked a batter and struck out two. He threw all of his pitches and was around 90-91 mph on his fastball, touching 92.

"Man, he looked amazing," Pena said. "We were talking about that, what impressed me the most was he hasn't lost anything. He looked like the guy he is every time. I felt like his fastball command was pretty good, his off-speed was unbelievable, especially the way he was working against lefties and righties, he was working both sides of the plate. It was very good to see."

Bailey said he used all his pitches in the outing.

"Even before the game, with Brayan, I said let's mix it up and play around, if you will. We mixed in some sliders, splits, stuff like that," Bailey said. "We already faced hitters once, but with the speed of the game, it was great to be out there. It was a nice, hot day, that helps out too."

Bailey started the spring behind the rest of the pitchers after undergoing surgery to repair the torn flexor tendon in his right forearm on Sept. 5, 2014. Bailey threw live batting practice last week and had another canceled when he came down with an illness. However, that didn't change the team's timeline for his return.

"I'd say we're on a pretty good track, we came back healthy, we haven't had any setbacks, I'd have to say this whole thing has gone pretty smooth," Bailey said.

Reds manager Bryan Price has said he hopes Bailey will be able to return to big-league action in the middle of April. At this point, Bailey will continue to increase his workload through the rest of the spring. He was scheduled to pitch two innings and 30 pitches on Sunday, missing that by a pitch in his outing against the Indians. He is on the schedule to start the Reds' Major League exhibition against the Brewers on Friday after another bullpen on Tuesday.

"I think I could have gone with a Major League game today, but it's just the workload, two innings, let's start there and build up," Bailey said. "At this time of year, it doesn't matter about the games themselves, as long as we're in games in general."

Bailey will start the season on the disabled list, and a start on the 27th in the big-league exhibition would mean he would be eligible to return in the first week of the season. If he starts two big-league games, his stint on the 15-day disabled list could be backdated to the last time he pitched in a big-league game (defined as any game where admission is charged).

"It's up in the air, we're waiting to see how he bounces back and how we want to go about his rehab -- you get to a certain point where you can't pitch him in big-league games and then activate him when we want to," Price said. "We have to be cautious if we give him too much too soon and also be conscious of when he can pitch and be activated on the day we anticipate him being ready to pitch for us in the big leagues."

Those questions lie ahead, but Sunday's questions were answered, as Bailey looked good on the mound and more importantly felt good.

"You get in game situations, the last thing you want to think about is your health," Bailey said. "You want to try to forget about it, go compete, go throw. If something comes up, it'll let you know. But until then, in my mind, I'm preparing for a season, not just coming back from an injury."