Ferguson set for another Triple-A Louisville outing in rehab build-up

Caleb Ferguson’s next turn for Triple-A Louisville is no longer just about building innings. It is about proving Cincinnati can finally put a left-handed reliever back into a bullpen that has already been altered by his oblique strain.

Ferguson, on the injured list since March 25 with the move retroactive to March 22, was scheduled to throw again on May 15 and May 17 for Louisville as he continued his rehab build-up. Terry Francona said Ferguson had not been fully ready when the process began, adding, “By his own admission, he wasn’t quite ready.” That has pushed the Reds into a measured approach, moving him step by step from Double-A Chattanooga to Triple-A Louisville instead of rushing him back after the first sign of progress.

The checkpoints now are clear. Ferguson needs his velocity to hold up through another outing, his command to sharpen from the rough first appearance, and his inning length to show he can handle a normal reliever’s workload without a drop-off in stuff. He has also been asked to pitch on back-to-back days during rehab, a final hurdle that usually tells a club whether a reliever is close to activation. If that work goes well, the next step could be live hitting on a velocity machine, another test Cincinnati can use to judge whether he is ready for big-league hitters again.

The Reds signed Ferguson to a one-year deal in December 2025, and he was supposed to be one of the left-handed pieces in Cincinnati’s 2026 bullpen. Instead, the mild right oblique strain knocked him off the Opening Day plan and forced the club to reshape both its bullpen and roster outlook before the season even settled in. That is the real consequence of this rehab assignment: Ferguson is not just trying to finish a rehab stint, he is trying to give the Reds back the southpaw they expected to have from the start.

If Ferguson clears the final Louisville tests, Cincinnati will have a straightforward decision. The club has already shown patience through Chattanooga and Louisville; now it is waiting on the fastball, the command and the recovery between outings to say the same thing.