Lorenzen is the leading candidate to win the Reds' fifth-starter job, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "(Lorenzen's) in a good position to earn a starting spot, but we have a long way to go," manager David Bell said Friday. "It's a question as what's best for our team, best for our pitching staff. A lot goes into that, it's not just about any one pitcher."
Tejay Antone turned a lot of heads with his first spring training performance, and Lorenzen struggled as he purposefully backed off his velocity a bit. With this battle, as with many other spring training job battles, it serves well to remember that Opening Day is a starting point, not the finish line. It's still possible for both Lorenzen and Antone to start in the long run, even if things don't begin that way.