Reds hopeful to have Homer Bailey for start of season

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Although questions about the Reds' rotation usually revolve around the fourth and fifth spots, right now there's no guarantee that Homer Bailey – the presumed No. 2 – will be ready for Opening Day.

Bailey had surgery Sept. 5 to repair a tear in the flexor mass of his right (throwing) arm. He's yet to throw off the mound.

"I wish I could tell you an exact date, but I haven't committed it to memory," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "(Saturday) was just an off day from throwing, just a recovery day, which is great. Standard protocol.

"I saw him throw two days ago, and he looked really good. The process of coming back from surgery is that you have – there's actually a date that no one can define, there's a date your arm is all of a sudden back to normal. The process to get to that point for each guy is different. That's why it's so hard for us to day it's an 8-month, 12-month or 15-month rehab."

Bailey seems to be progressing well, but it's never a normal spring when you're coming off surgery.

"He feels good," Price said. "It takes a little longer for him to get loose, he's still breaking up scar tissue in his elbow and things of that nature. But he feels good. We haven't had a setback since the surgery date, and I think at this point in time, I haven't discounted having him open the season on our active roster.

"That being said, we will get to a date where, if he's not pitching in games, I wouldn't consider having him on the active roster. It wouldn't make any sense to force him through three or four starts in spring training and then deem him ready for his start against St. Louis or whoever else we play after the Cardinals, Cubs."

The Reds play the Cardinals in the second series of the year and Cubs in the third.

AND MARSHALL? The Reds haven't ruled out that left-hander Sean Marshall can be ready by Opening Day. Marshall is coming off shoulder surgery, which is more difficult to return from than elbow surgery.

"I'd say he's a question mark," Price said. "When he came to Goodyear, he was doing his throwing protocols, long toss and everything was good. He had a little bit of inflammation, and we wanted to make sure that Dr. (Tim) Kremchek saw him before we gave him the green light to start throwing again.

"They did an evaluation on it during his physical. They came to some conclusions we should continue his range of motion. He worked so hard on his strength that I think the flexibility needed to be increased in the shoulder. From what I've heard from him and the trainers is that he felt phenomenal. I would think re-initiating a game of catch will come shortly. I also think that would mean he would be fairly close, if everything is OK, to getting on the mound."