His glow was enhanced by knowing that two of his players, shortstop Zack Cozart and catcher Stuart Turner, played baseball at Ole Miss.
“They both were inspired by the Cal fight song I sent along to them,” joked Price, wearing a white Cal polo shirt adorned with the team logo. “I was so jacked. I watched the first 10 minutes of it. (Then I) got up to go to the bathroom at the middle of the night and checked the score. I couldn’t wait to get up and send the Cal fight song to Zack. I waited until 8:40 (a.m.). That’s as long as I could wait.”
TJ for Storen: Price’s good spirits were tempered with the news that right-handed relief pitcher Drew Storen will be undergoing “Tommy John” surgery to replace the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Storen, who turned 30 on Aug. 11, went on the 10-day disabled list on Sept. 12 after going 4-2 with a 4.45 earned-run average and one save in 58 games. He pitched in pain for a while, Price said.
“He’s found a way to be competitive and stay on the field,” Price said of the Brownsburg, Ind., native. “His elbow was not 100 percent, but it certainly allowed him to pitch regularly. We noticed the decrease in velocity. Now in order for him to get back, he needs to have the ulnar collateral ligament surgery.”
Pitchers usually need a year to come back after the procedure.
“It’s individual,” Price said. “It used to be 9-12 months, but you never know.”
Storen, who spent four seasons with Washington and part of 2016 with Toronto and Seattle before signing with Cincinnat as a free agent in January, is the 14th Cincinnati pitcher to go on the disabled list this season. Three, left-hander Brandon Finnegan and right-handers Austin Brice and Scott Feldman, have made two appearances.
Next step: Center fielder Billy Hamilton, on the 10-day disabled list since Sept. 7 with a fractured left thumb, had the splint removed on schedule, but that didn’t mean he was ready to return to the lineup.
“Today might be his first day splint-free,” Price said. “Today, he’s eligible to come off the disabled list, but he’s not. He’s doing all his pain-free range-of-motion stuff. He’ll be able to resume some baseball activity, running and throwing, (but I’m) not sure when he’ll be able to grip and swing a bat.”
Price wasn’t sure if Hamilton could be available as a pinch-runner.
“Potentially,” he said. “He’s a head-first guy. Is he capable of going in feet first? He is. I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of Billy Hamilton this year. He’ll be able to impact the game some way, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to swing a bat.”
Day off: The Reds are idle Monday before resuming the nine-game home stand with the first of three against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. Rookie right-hander Jackson Stephens (2-0, 2.38 ERA) will make his second career start and first against the Cardinals. Stephens allowed two hits and had a strikeout in three innings of relief during Cincinnati’s 5-2 loss at St. Louis on Thursday.
The Reds listed right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-1, 6.08) as St. Louis’s scheduled starter for Tuesday’s game, but the Cardinals notes for their game at Chicago listed Tuesday’s starter as to be announced. The rookie allowed four hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of Cincinnati’s 6-0 win at St. Louis on Wednesday. Jesse Winker led off that game with his first career leadoff home run.
Winker went into Sunday’s game hitting .150 with a .190 on-base percentage in six games as Cincinnati’s leadoff batter, but he was hitting .275 with a .365 on-base percentage overall, giving Price reason to ponder the possibility of replacing Hamilton with Winker at the top of the order,
“You either want the speed component or the on-base component,” Price said. “I think he can do it. I don’t know that’s exactly where I’d expect him to settle in over the course of his career, but if the need is to have someone to get on base ahead of these guys that are driving him in, he fits the bill there. I certainly like the Billy speed component and the electricity that comes with him leading off the game and getting on.”
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