The Reds announced that Lodolo will have his contract selected from Triple-A Louisville in advance of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Guardians in Cincinnati.
Manager David Bell heavily implied at the end of spring training that Lodolo would break camp as a member of the Cincinnati rotation, but the Reds delayed adding the 24-year-old lefty to the 40-man and 28-man active rosters until a fifth starter was first needed Wednesday. Lodolo should make at least two turns through the rotation before the Reds return either Luis Castillo (shoulder) or Mike Minor (shoulder) from the injured list, and whether the rookie sticks around with the big club on a more permanent basis will likely hinge on how he performs in his initial MLB action. Between his stops at Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville in 2021, Lodolo was one of the minor league's most dominant pitchers. He made bats miss at a prolific clip (38.8 strikeout rate) and generated groundballs at a 54 percent clip over 50.2 total innings.