The Reds announced that left-hander Brandon Williamson has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder fatigue. Right-hander Zach Maxwell has been recalled in a corresponding move.
Williamson started yesterday’s game against the Rockies at Great American Ball Park. He pitched three innings before being removed with shoulder fatigue. After the game, manager Terry Francona said Williamson would undergo an MRI, per Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie’s Chalkboard. Today, Francona tells Goldsmith that Williamson’s shoulder is fine structurally but he’ll get a cortisone injection. His specific timeline isn’t clear but he’ll spend at least a couple of weeks on the shelf.
Injuries have been a recurring issue for Williamson in recent seasons. He began the 2024 season on the IL due to a strain in his throwing shoulder. His attempts to get healthy that summer hit speed bumps and season-ending surgery seemed possible at one point. He eventually returned in September and made four appearances before he hurt his elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery. That wiped out his 2025 season.
Coming into 2026, Williamson didn’t project to crack the Cincinnati rotation after missing almost two entire seasons but injuries to other hurlers pushed him up the depth chart. Two of Cincinnati’s best starters, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, hit the IL to start the year. That left them with a rotation of Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder and Williamson.
Those five have stayed on turn until now. The results haven’t been great, with the group having a collective 4.57 earned run average, which is better than just five other MLB clubs. Williamson has been a part of the problem, with a 6.11 ERA on the year so far. Despite the struggles from the rotation, and plenty of other weak spots, the Reds have managed an incredible 19-11 record so far.
Though Williamson hasn’t been in great form, it’s not ideal for the rotation to lose another member when they’ve been playing above their heads. Having to reach further into the depth will make it harder for the club to keep winning unless the other parts of the roster step up.
Maxwell gives them another bullpen arm for the time being but the Reds don’t have an off-day until May 11th, so they have games scheduled for the next 11 days. That means they will need a fifth starter or some bullpen games to get through a couple of turns in the rotation. Abbott is taking the ball today, followed by Singer, Lowder and Burns in the next three.
Jose Franco has been working as a long reliever in the big league bullpen and could be part of the solution on Monday, if he’s not needed in the interim. Lodolo just tossed five innings on a rehab start on Sunday. Assuming he makes one more rehab start in the coming days, he could be back in the mix in about a week. Chase Petty is on optional assignment and started yesterday, so he’s on the same schedule Williamson was and could slot in for him. Julian Aguiar is also on optional assignment but has been on the minor league IL for the past three weeks.
Photo courtesy of Albert Cesare, Imagn Images
