Reds end Devin Mesoraco experiment for now

CHICAGO — The Reds' Devin Mesoraco experiment in left field is on hold - for now at least.

Mesoraco, on the disabled list with a hip impingement, left Triple-A Louisville's game Wednesday in Columbus with soreness. Thursday was a scheduled day off. Friday, he returned to Cincinnati rather than continuing to play in with the Bats.

"He's still sore," Price said. "So, as opposed to returning to Louisville, we've made a change to his travel plans. He's going back to Cincinnati, spending some time doing some rehab work.

"We'll re-assess things when we return off the road trip."

The Reds return Wednesday. Mesoraco has not been able to catch since April 12 because of the hip. He began rehab playing left field on Monday after hip surgeon Bryan Kelly assured him that playing the outfield would not aggravate the condition.

Mesoraco will likely need surgery to correct the condition. The usual recovery time for the surgery is four to six months. So in order to guarantee he is ready for spring training, Mesoraco would need to have the surgery by mid-August.

"We thought we could transition to outfield," Price said. "But it hasn't gone as well as we had hoped."

Other injury updates:

— Brandon Phillips (left groin strain) took batting practice and ground balls Thursday. He's missing his third straight start Friday.

"He was good with BP," Price said. "He took it little more gingerly with the ground balls. He's definitely getting better each day. . . I think he's a usable player off the bench (Friday).

"It's still really day-by-day. It's a tenuous injury. I've alluded to it before. If it goes south, it won't be good. I'll be a little more conservative with this injury. We'll wait until we feel very confident he won't re-injure it."

The weather in Chicago hasn't helped. Rain is in the forecast the next three days.

"Slip, sliding away," Price said. "It hasn't been great."

— Center fielder Billy Hamilton (left wrist) is back in the lineup Friday. Hamilton took batting practice Thursday and was fine.

"It felt good," he said. "No problem."

— Right-hander Raisel Iglesias (oblique) has not resumed throwing yet. "He's getting better," Price said.

— Left fielder Marlon Byrd (fractured wrist) is improving, but Price could not put a date on Byrd's return.

— Outfielder/second baseman Jason Bourgeois (shoulder) continues to rehab with Triple-A Louisville. He's been out since midway through spring training, so he'll be on rehab for a while.

"It wouldn't be fair to him," Price said. "If he does rejoin us as a bench player, he would be way better served to get extensive at-bats. He's kind of in the middle of his spring training right now."

WHAT A RELIEF: The Reds bullpen had only given up one run over the last six games and 17 1/3 innings.

The recent run coincides with J.J. Hoover moving into the eighth-inning role. Hoover hasn't allowed an earned run since April 21 and hasn't allowed a run at in nine appearances, lowering his ERA to 1.71.

"We're starting to have roles defined a little better," Price said. "Hoover's transitioned into the eighth-inning guy. We've also gotten some nice work from Manny Parra as well. That allows us to use both our left-handers in those high-leverage situations. No one has to take on the brunt of that responsibility. (Burke) Badenhop has thrown the ball well his last seven, eight times out. He's been very productive.

"It's allowed us to settle. These guys have a better idea of when they're going to pitch. But we've got to keep doing it. Consistency is the name of the game there."

Badenhop got off to horrendous start. He had a 15.74 ERA in April. He has posted a 1.98 ERA since the end of April.