The Cincinnati Reds suffered another rotation setback on June 20, placing veteran left-hander Wade Miley on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain just hours before their series opener in St. Louis. The move, retroactive to June 17, came as a surprise given that Miley had completed a bullpen session earlier in the week and was penciled in to start during the road trip.
o fill the sudden void, Cincinnati recalled hard-throwing prospect Connor Phillips from Triple-A Louisville, while former first-rounder Chase Petty was added to the taxi squad for additional depth. Manager Terry Francona admitted the timing was “brutal,” noting the club was already juggling innings limits and bullpen workload after a string of short starts.
Miley’s injury is particularly dispiriting because the 38-year-old had only just re-signed with the Reds on June 4, a week after opting out of a minor-league deal elsewhere. The organization viewed the veteran as a stabilizing presence for a rotation that had already lost Hunter Greene (groin strain) and Graham Ashcraft (groin strain) in June.
After his most recent outing, Miley acknowledged experiencing “stiffening up” between innings but said the arm felt normal once he loosened again. “I’ve been through worse,” he told reporters, expressing optimism that the discomfort was manageable—comments that now read far more ominously in light of the flexor diagnosis.
The ripple effect is immediate: Phillips will try to soak up innings, while swingman Connor Joe and bullpen long man Ben Lively could see emergency starts. Cincinnati has also discussed accelerating top prospect Chase Petty to the majors if Miley’s absence stretches beyond the minimum. The Reds began the season touting enviable depth, yet four starters are now on the IL.
Miley is expected to undergo additional imaging this week to determine whether the strain will require longer-term rest or, in a worst-case scenario, season-ending surgery. For now, the Reds will monitor his progress daily, but officials conceded a realistic return date won’t be clear until mid-July at the earliest—a critical juncture for a club clinging to contention in the NL Central.
