Reds notebook: Nick Lodolo to start experimenting with new breaking ball grip

SEATTLE — Nick Lodolo (blister) is going to throw a short bullpen on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m in a spot where I feel like I can throw a bit,” Lodolo said. “I might throw 10 pitches. It’s not going to be a full set. It’s more to keep my arm moving and going down the slope to keep some type of feel.”

He’s in the process of figuring out what he needs to do with his breaking ball.

He’s open to changing his grip, and he’s going to start experimenting with that.

“A lot of it is grip related, I’m trying to change that,” Lodolo said. “I feel like I have to. It’s weird that last year I can throw 130 innings without getting it, and sometimes you can’t go 50. What’s the difference?”

In his big league career, when he has been rolling, Lodolo’s breaking ball has been his signature pitch. It’s a real outlier pitch, and his combination of arm angle and spin can stun elite hitters. The problem is that the breaking ball has been the pitch that’s aggravated his blister over the years.

As Lodolo ramps up his throwing off the mound, he’ll go through a feeling out process to figure out what breaking ball grip he should use.

“I have no idea (right now),” Lodolo said. “I haven’t even thrown it yet. There are so many different grips I can throw. It’s about comfort and ability to execute it. That tells you everything you need to know.”

He said that he might start throwing two different breaking balls — his old one in specific spots in the game and then a new grip that he’d use in different situations.

Lodolo’s horizontal arm slot makes it tough for him to add a new pitch like a splitter or a cutter. Lodolo tried throwing a cutter in the Minor Leagues, and with his arm slot the pitch basically played as a slider.

It’ll be sort of a trail and error process with Lodolo to figure out a potential new breaking ball as he starts throwing off the mound.

“I’ll play with a few different things,” Lodolo said. “Hopefully it turns into something good. You’ve got to throw it off the mound to really be able to see it.”

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On Tuesday morning, the Reds toured the Seattle Seahawks’ training facility.

“They were really nice to us,” Terry Francona said. “I never do stuff like that during the season. I was glad I did. Their facility was so nice that it was silly.”

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who at 38 years old just became the third-youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl, grew up a big Red Sox fan and dreamed of working for the Red Sox when he was a kid.

On Tuesday, Francona and Macdonald spoke for about 10-to-15 minutes.

“He did ask me what do you tell the guys about moving on (after a championship),” Francona said. “We were laughing. I told the guys (in Boston in 2005 and 2007) to move on. The whole spring, that’s all everybody talks about. Then you start the season, and you have the ring ceremony. You have to be a little careful because you’re not moving on, but you’ve got to deal with it.”

Later that day, Macdonald, Seahawks GM John Schneider and quarterback Sam Donald threw out the first pitch. Walking off the field, Schneider looked into the Reds’ dugout, pointed at Francona and shouted, “I love you!”

“He seemed like a regular old dude,” Francona said.

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Emilio Pagán’s save on Tuesday night was the best he has looked all season, and it looked like an aha moment for his splitter.

“His stuff was really crisp,” Francona said. “His first fastball, I don’t know what it registered, but it was here and through the zone. It was really encouraging.”

Pagán pitched through a tight hamstring for most of April before straining the hamstring at the start of May and going on the IL. He’s back healthy now, and he’s getting sharper and sharper with more games under his belt.

“The more he pitches with health — he comes off the mound so aggressively,” Francona said.
“He jumps at the hitter. His extension is so good because of that. When he had the hamstring (injury), if it’s in the back of your head, it can mess with you a bit.”

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Where are Edwin Arroyo and Noelvi Marte at in their development?

“I’m not sure we actually know,” Francona said.

They’re at different points of their careers: Arroyo has been a big leaguer for six weeks and Marte has been up and down over the last four seasons. But they’re also both young guys with plenty of tools who just haven’t been consistent this season. They’re the types of players who could benefit from every day at-bats down the stretch, but the Reds’ best lineups right now don’t always include them.

“We’re still trying to figure out what’s there,” Francona said. “Not just what could be there, but what is there. It’s hard sometimes.”

Arroyo’s second base defense is a work in progress.

“The speed of the game here is faster,” Francona said. “Sometimes, with young guys, it shows. That’s why you don’t make rash decisions. When it does start to slow down, some guys get a lot better.”

He added, “You don’t have a crystal ball and don’t know who’s going to figure it out. There are some gigs you get on more than others. When they do, you hate to be the team that should have waited. It’s hard. You do the best you can.”