Reds Roster Battle Heating Up After Rhett Lowder's Dominant Spring Outing

The Cincinnati Reds have a lot to be excited about with the current state of their roster, but the clear biggest strength in the Queen City is the starting pitching staff. Last year, the Reds had a chance to make a run in the postseason because their October rotation was supposed to be Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott.

This spring, the pitching staff is even deeper. The aforementioned three are still the top arms in Cincinnati. Brady Singer comes in as the assumed No. 4 in the rotation after a big year with the Reds.

The questions begin to arise with the No. 5 starter role. On Friday, Reds youngster Rhett Lowder made this debate even harder for the Reds.

Reds have their hands full with the No. 5 starter decision

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder (25) delivers a pitch in the third inning of a Cactus League game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lowder tossed three no-hit innings with a walk and three strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels to bring his spring totals to five innings, two hits allowed, one earned run, two walks, and seven strikeouts. If this were a one game outing, the Reds would be incredibly happy with this performance.

Three scoreless innings from @lowderrhett pic.twitter.com/353WEp5B9N
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) February 27, 2026

One of Lowder's three strikeouts came against former Red Jeimer Canderlario.

Jeimer candelario striking out to Rhett Lowder pic.twitter.com/P4I5H7SXTq
— drew (@Cincyfan168) February 27, 2026

"He knows how to pitch. His future is extremely bright," Reds manager Terry Francona said about Lowder, per Charlie Goldsmith.

But the issue is the Reds can't go into the season without Chase Burns in their starting rotation. Burns has the potential and ability to quickly turn into one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. He recently turned in another solid outing of his own, bringing his spring stats to 4 1/3 innings, two hits, one earned run, five walks, and seven strikeouts.

The Reds have a few ways they could go about this issue.

They could use Burns in the rotation and send Lowder to Triple-A, which seems like the most likely route. Burns spent most of last season in the big leagues while Lowder didn't pitch because of injuries. Lowder could use some more work in Triple-A before being in the big leagues and injuries are bound to occur, especially in the pitching rotation. Lowder is very good depth to have.

They could opt to send Burns to Triple-A while giving Lowder the final spot in the rotation, but this doesn't make much sense because Burns is far too dominant for Triple-A.

The Reds could opt for a six-man rotation, which is seemingly against what pitching coach Derek Johnson believes in, but it could work in this scenario. It would help manage the workload of Greene, Burns, and Lowder, all of whom battled injuries last season.

The Reds could also look to trade one of their starters for another impact bat, freeing up a spot for Lowder and Burns in the rotation. Singer, Lodolo, and Abbott have all been mentioned as trade chips. To be clear, I don't think this is the route they should or will go, but it's certainly a possibility if the Reds fully believe in the young pitchers.

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