What started out as a possible reprieve for the Reds has turned into a much tougher blow for Michael Toglia.
According to Charlie Goldsmith, Toglia will need surgery on the dislocated right shoulder he suffered Friday night against the Diamondbacks. That’s a sharp reversal from the early optimism around the injury, when the Reds had reason to believe the damage might not be as severe as it first appeared.
Toglia’s shoulder popped out of place while he was making a diving grab in left field. The immediate signs looked somewhat encouraging: X-rays were negative, and Toglia said after the game that he wasn’t feeling any pain once the shoulder was put back into place. Terry Francona added to that optimism, saying there was a chance Toglia could be OK despite how alarming the injury looked in the moment.
Instead, the Reds placed Toglia on the 10-day injured list Sunday and brought up Ivan Johnson from Triple-A Louisville. With surgery now on the table, Toglia’s season looks finished. The 28-year-old had only just been promoted from Louisville and appeared in 10 games for Cincinnati, hitting .115/.179/.192 with two extra-base hits.
While Toglia’s news landed hard, Saturday night still gave the Reds a historic offensive jolt. In an 11-5 win over the Diamondbacks, JJ Bleday hit for the cycle, becoming the eighth player in Reds history to do it and the first since Elly De La Cruz in 2023. Bleday doubled in the first inning, tripled in the third, singled in the fourth and then finished the job with his 21st home run of the season in the sixth.
It was also the first cycle by a Reds player on the road since Heinie Groh did it in 1915.
Now Cincinnati turns to Chase Burns for Monday night’s opener against the Giants. The right-hander enters at 14-2 with a 2.51 ERA, and his season has already piled up plenty of notable company.
Burns has held opponents to two runs or fewer in 19 of his 24 starts, making him the first Reds pitcher since 1900 to do that. He also put together a stretch of 12 straight starts allowing two runs or fewer from April 16 through June 21, matching Edinson Volquez’s 2008 run for the longest such streak by a Reds pitcher since 1900.
His strikeout pace has been just as eye-catching. Burns has 216 strikeouts through his first 32 career starts, the second-most by a Reds pitcher over that span since 1900, behind only Nick Lodolo’s 221.
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Carson Benge has now forced his way into that discussion, though, and it comes at a time when voters are likely to weigh more than just raw numbers. The Mets outfielder has made a real jump since the All-Star break, enough to turn what looked like a two-player race into something less settled. For Stewart, the issue is no longer simply whether he has been good enough, but whether the total value he has provided to the Reds can still separate him from a pair of challengers gaining ground at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
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Reds Are Running Out Of Time To Regain Fan Trust
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What makes the moment feel so urgent is that patience is not the same thing as trust. Reds fans and outside observers alike have started to talk more openly about the need for real change, not just incremental fixes, if the franchise wants to look like a contender again. Until the organization can show it can build and sustain a better roster and make sharper decisions at the top, every promising stretch will carry the same old burden of doubt. [Read more 🡒]