ANAHEIM, California – Tyler Stephenson and the Cincinnati Reds are hopeful his thumb injury won’t end his regular-season, but the team’s starting catcher said he won’t speculate on that at least until he sees a hand specialist in Phoenix on Aug. 22.
“I have no idea,” he said. “We’ll know more on Friday.”
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Stephenson, who has been sidelined since the weekend because of a sore left thumb he hurt catching a pitch last week, was sent for X-rays Aug. 19 after it flared up during a side session catching Nick Lodolo.
A small fracture near the tip of the thumb was discovered, and Stephenson was put on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 17.
Tyler Stephenson will see a hand specialist in Phoenix Aug. 22 to try to determine if his thumb injury is season-ending.
“It’s disappointing,” said Stephenson, who appeared to to be progressing well enough this week that manager Terry Francona had him in his lineup plans for Wednesday until the X-rays.
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“It had been feeling better. The past few days it felt really good hitting,” he said.
“He took BP (Tuesday), and he was killing the ball,” Francona said.
Stephenson called the process of returning to action and playing with the injury “a pain-tolerance thing.”
Said Francona: “It would be quicker if he wasn’t a catcher.”
It’s too early to know at this point whether activating Stephenson after he’s eligible next week as designated hitter and emergency third catcher would be an option if the Reds feel they need the bat and catching remains a problem.
The Reds were a half-game out of playoff position as they took the field against the Angels late Aug. 20.
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Jose Trevino, the former Platinum Glove catcher, takes over full-time starting duties.
Catching prospect Will Banfield was called up as the corresponding move when Stephenson went on the IL. Banfield’s first action with the Reds would be his big-league debut.
Francona said before the game he wasn’t sure how he’ll work Banfield into the mix. The Reds had a scheduled off day Aug. 21 ahead of a weekend series against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
“We’ve got an off day to kind of look through some stuff,” Francona said. “The good side of it is we had him in spring training, so everybody knows him. And he can catch and throw. He’s probably our best thrower maybe in the organization. So that part’s good. And he’s a great kid.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Injured Cincinnati Reds’ Tyler Stephenson to see specialist in Phoenix