A year ago, Rhett Lowder wasn't in Goodyear. He wasn't throwing bullpen sessions or facing hitters in Cactus League games. He was rehabbing — first from right elbow soreness, then from a left oblique strain that ended his 2025 season before it ever really began. It was the kind of lost year that can derail a career.
Today, Lowder is on the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day roster. And the story of how he got here is one of the best in camp.
The Injury Nightmare
Lowder entered 2025 spring training with right elbow soreness that the Reds initially diagnosed as a right forearm strain. He opened the season on the injured list and spent months working his way back through a careful rehab program. By late May, he was nearing the end of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville, looking close to a return.
Then came the oblique. On May 22, Lowder severely strained his left oblique, and just like that, his season was over. He didn't throw another competitive pitch in 2025. For a first-round pick who had shown so much promise in his brief big league debut, it was a devastating blow.
A Spring Without Rust
What's remarkable about Lowder's 2026 spring training is not just that he's healthy — it's that he looks like he never left. In his first start of the spring, Lowder fired three hitless innings, walking one and striking out three. The stuff was sharp, the command was crisp, and the confidence was palpable. There was no tentativeness, no easing back in. He attacked hitters from the first pitch.
Since that initial outing, Lowder has continued to impress. His fastball velocity is back to pre-injury levels, his breaking ball is biting, and his composure on the mound has drawn praise from the coaching staff. Manager Terry Francona told Lowder he'd made the Opening Day roster on March 17 — a validation of months of grueling rehab work.
The Tandem Role
Lowder will share rotation duties with Chase Burns and Brandon Williamson in an innovative tandem arrangement designed to manage workloads. It's a smart approach for a pitcher who hasn't thrown more than a handful of competitive innings since 2024. The Reds aren't asking Lowder to throw 180 innings right out of the gate — they're asking him to be effective in the innings he gets and build toward a bigger role as the season progresses.
What's Next
The ceiling for Lowder remains as high as it was when the Reds drafted him. He has a four-pitch mix with plus command, the kind of profile that projects as a mid-rotation starter at minimum. If the lost year made him hungrier — and everything we've seen this spring suggests it did — then the Reds may have gotten something even better back: a pitcher with elite stuff and something to prove. That's a dangerous combination.
