Reds Pitcher Rhett Lowder Healthy, Ready to Contribute in 2026

After a fantastic rookie season that saw him reach the majors in September of 2024, last season was a frustrating one for Cincinnati's 2023 first-round draft pick, Rhett Lowder.

In February, Lowder was dealing with elbow soreness, and the Reds decided to use caution with him since he's still so young.

During a rehab appearance, Lowder then injured his oblique, which caused him to miss the rest of the season.

"Just delayed out of spring training, nothing crazy," Lowder said. "Kind of just more so being careful. Had a flare-up. I was 22 at the time. Just unfortunate that during that buildup on the way back, I tore the oblique pretty good. That taught me a lot. Obliques you can't do much about. You kind of have to let heal on their own. The hardest part about the oblique is that you can reinjure it in the early stages pretty easily, and you have to be careful with that."

Lowder said the oblique injury was very painful.

Missing the whole season made the right-hander appreciate being out on the mound during games and able to compete.

"It took a while before I could do anything. I learned a lot about patience. It just showed me that what I loved the most was just being out there playing. Despite results or anything, it's much better to be on the field, even if you're doing bad, than not being able to play at all."

Lowder went to the Arizona Fall League after the season and pitched in four games. The right-hander gave up five runs on nine hits, but he felt healthy, which is the most important.

"It's a good experience because there aren't many games going on with pretty good talent at that time of the year. I was lucky to get some reps...Just getting back into games where I didn't have to think about the body was pretty much the main thing. By the time I was done out there, I was like, okay, I can trust my body, I can make starts and recover fine. I felt good from where I left off."

Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott all pretty much have spots secured in the 2026 season rotation if they stay healthy. If Brady Singer doesn't get traded, he likely has a spot locked up as well. It could very well come down to Chase Burns and Lowder for the last rotation spot to go into the season.

You can watch our full interview with Lowder below:

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