C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

DENVER -- Right-hander Michael Lorenzen threw 31 pitches in two innings at extended spring training in Arizona on Tuesday. Reds manager Bryan Price said the reports on Lorenzen both from Tuesday and on Wednesday were good.

As the team moves forward, the Reds will prepare Lorenzen as a reliever, not as a starter. He will throw a bullpen in Arizona on Thursday and then pitch in a game on Saturday. He will stay in Arizona through extended spring training, which ends on June 8. He will then likely report to Louisville.

“We are preparing him to pitch out of the bullpen, as opposed to starting,” Price said “That’s not an indictment on him or a lack of confidence in his ability to start, it’s really more out of necessity coming off of an elbow issue, we felt it’s easier to control coming out of the bullpen rather than as a starter. We could certainly utilize him out of the ‘pen.”

Reds notes: Michael Lorenzen could come back as reliever

Lorenzen suffered a sprained right elbow in spring training and then battled a case of mononucleosis.

An All-American outfielder and closer in college, Lorenzen was converted to a starter by the Reds and made a rapid ascent through the team’s minor-league system. As a rookie in 2015, Lorenzen was 4-9 with a 5.45 ERA in 21 starts and 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA in six relief appearances. He was put in the bullpen full-time at the end of last season after reaching an innings limit and allowed just one run over 4 1/3 innings in four appearances.

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