Louisville manager: Devin Mesoraco never looked healthy

Louisville manager Delino DeShields said Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco never looked healthy in his three games with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate.

Mesoraco played three games in left field as the team tried to see if he could play the outfield with the hip impingement that has kept him from catching since the first week of the season.

On Thursday, Mesoraco left the Bats' game against Columbus with soreness in his hip before leaving the team to attend a funeral Friday. The Reds have said they are putting the attempt of playing Mesoraco in the outfield on hold. DeShields told the Louisville Courier-Journal that he doesn't expect to see Mesoraco anytime soon.

"He's not going to be the player they want him to be with a bad hip," DeShields told the Courier-Journal Sunday. "I don't care where you put him. … The main thing for him, right now, is to get healthy. It's obvious, to me, that he's injured, and he's not going to get better. It was even hurting him on his swings the other night in Columbus. I just want to see him get healthy, if it's surgery or whatever it is."

Mesoraco has met with noted hip surgeon Bryan Kelly before attempting his comeback in the field. Kelly signed off on the attempt, but surgery still seems likely. The recovery time for the surgery is four to six months, Mesoraco was told.