C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

Devin Mesoraco will play Thursday in Pensacola

Jose Peraza has the green light on the basepaths

It's Skyline Time for Rookie Davis

Drew Storen's place in Reds history

Devin Mesoraco’s 2017 season will begin Thursday night in Pensacola, where he will start a rehab assignment with the Reds’ Double-A team.

Mesoraco, who had hip and shoulder surgeries last season, played in seven games in spring and had 17 at-bats. He will have 20 days to complete his rehab assignment, barring a setback.

“We have a loose schedule that will end up going day-to-day based on how he responds to it,” Reds manager Bryan Price said on Wednesday. “He’s caught six innings. We will get him to where he is back-to-back but those will start with probably back-to-back seven-inning games. We’ll get him to where he’s catching back-to-back nine-inning games before we consider activating him.”

Price said he’d like for him to have at least 40 or more at-bats before being activated, as well.

Mesoraco was in Cincinnati on Monday and was traveling to Pensacola on Wednesday. Monday he told reporters he felt great.

Price said the team expects him to be ready to play before his 20 days are up.

Right-hander Austin Brice (inflammation, right ulnar nerve) will begin a rehab assignment for the Blue Wahoos on Friday. He is scheduled to throw one inning.

Green light for Peraza

Like leadoff man Billy Hamilton, Reds No. 2 hitter Jose Peraza will have a green light on the basepaths this year, Reds manager Bryan Price said on Wednesday.

“I have the ability to put a hold on where they’re not running,” Price said. “Along the lines of what we did with Billy in 2014, was very rarely did he have a hold on.”

Peraza stole 21 bases for the Reds in 72 games last season and was caught 10 times. In Hamilton’s first full season, he stole 56 bases and was caught 23 times. That was a learning experience for Hamilton, who has stolen 115 bases in the last two seasons and only been caught 16 times.

“Jose I think will go through the same thing that Billy did, really learn that it’s not sheer athleticism that steals bases,” Price said. “A lot of it has to do with knowledge and what you know and how to utilize the weaknesses of your opponent and exploit those.”

Skyline time for Davis

Rookie Davis will officially become a Cincinnati Red on Thursday when he’s scheduled to start the series finale against the Phillies. But on Wednesday, he became a Cincinnatian, taking his first trip to Skyline Chili.

“It was everything it's supposed to be,” said Davis, a rookie right-hander from North Carolina.

Like any transplant to the city, Davis had heard about the local delicacy and had been asked his opinion about it. He waited for his sister to get into town before trying it, and Wednesday afternoon we walked to a downtown Skyline and ordered a three-way.

The verdict?

“It's very filling,” he said. “Very good… If I pitch well tomorrow, I'm going back every day.”

He then took to Twitter to voice his approval:

Two-pitch walk

Drew Storen said he’s now the answer to a trivia question – “who was the first Reds pitcher to issue an intentional walk without throwing four pitches?”

Major League Baseball added a rule allowing managers and pitcher to eschew the four pitches outside of the strike zone for an intentional walk.

After falling behind 2-0 to Michael Saunders with one on and two out in the seventh inning of Monday’s game, Reds manager Bryan Price ordered the intentional walk.

“I didn't do anything. I was like, sweet,” Storen said on Wednesday. ”That was the extent of it. I fell behind 2-0, that's about the only thing I contributed.”

Like every other minute change to the game, the new rule has been debated endlessly. Storen, for one, is a fan.

“As with any change, it has to play out. It's going to get manipulated one way or another,” he said. “But I don't mind it, it moves the game along. For me, to waste two pitches and to have to come in and lock in for the next guy. I don't mind it from that standpoint.”