Reds: Homer Bailey unlikely for season's start

Reds right-hander Homer Bailey threw his third bullpen of the spring on Thursday, but will have at least one more bullpen before advancing to live batting practice. Bailey is coming back from elbow surgery and is unlikely to be ready to start the season, the Reds said.

"He's throwing three bullpens so before he gets too far into the live BP, we'll probably want to start to integrate a few breaking balls and make sure his recovery is good," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It really is kind of an outing-to-outing re-assessment for Homer. We have a map of what we expect him to do, or hope that he does, but there is no guarantee he'll follow it. It may be a slower progression or more rapid – but so far, so good."

After his session on Thursday, Bailey said he felt great after throwing 35 pitches, the best he's felt so far in his recovery.

"I know that the elbow, more so than the shoulder, is typically been an easier recovery. So I don't anticipate any setbacks," Price said. "That being the case, you never know what can happen. But he looked good. His mechanics look good. That's important and the ball is coming out of his hand really well. So we'll see."

STEPHENSON CLOSER: Votto and Bailey aren't the only players who are a touch behind this spring. The Reds were also cautious with top pitching prospect Robert Stephenson, who had a "tender" shoulder entering camp.

Price said Stephenson is close to catching up with the rest of the team's pitchers. Stephenson, 22, is in his second big-league camp.

"We wanted to make sure we weren't rushing him into games," Price said. "It doesn't make any sense for these guys to be throwing with any type of arm soreness in spring training. So we're just being cautious."

Stephenson will still have to throw a live batting practice before he pitches in an exhibition game.