Cingrani (illness) was scratched from Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

EDGE Analysis

A case of the flu kept Cingrani off the mound for Tuesday's matchup with Royals and prevented him from making his fifth appearance of the spring. The former starter-turned-reliever has been relatively sharp thus far in camp, throwing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against just two walks. Given that he has the flu, he could be shut down for a few days to rest, but he figures to be back on the mound later in the week.

Cingrani will be prepped as a reliever in spring training.

EDGE Analysis

Cingrani is a darkhorse candidate to close for the Reds, though right now it's simply a matter for the Reds to get his career on track. It's pretty obvious though under the current Reds administration that he's a long shot to ever start for them again, as the rotation couldn't be more wide open to begin the season.

Cingrani was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

With rosters expanded, Cingrani will return to the big league club for the first time since late-July. The 26-year-old holds a 4.85 ERA across 26.0 innings for the Reds on the season, and he'll simply add depth to the bullpen down the stretch.

Cingrani (shoulder) will be stretched out on his rehab assignment and could ultimately start again this season. It's not hard to envision Cingrani displacing Josh Smith or even Michael Lorenzen when he returns. "We're trying to get him stretched out so he can fill multiple roles," Reds manager Bryan Price said on Saturday. "He has more value to us the longer he can pitch, the more innings he can pitch. He was really limited to being anywhere from a situational left-hander to a two-inning guy. The fact we have so many young guys in our rotation and we've used our bullpen quite a bit, his value will be more if he can give us more innings than less, so we're going to get him stretched out a little more than his standard two innings."

Cingrani (shoulder) is scheduled to embark on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. Cingrani has been progressing well in his recovery from a strained left shoulder, and he'll continue to ramp up his activity this week before heading to Louisville over the weekend. It's unclear how many rehab appearances he'll require, and the Reds are yet to announce a target return date.

Cingrani (shoulder) has been making good progress in his rehab. "It's going great. More good news," manager Bryan Price said. "He's on a regular throwing program. I believe he'll get off the mound after we get back off the road. He's had zero setbacks. His arm feels great. He's been throwing. He initiated throwing right there at the end of the last homestand. He's back to about 105 feet and having no ill-effects from throwing."

Cingrani was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a strained left shoulder. Cingrani allowed two hits and an earned run in his last outing, which may have been related to his shoulder issue. The club recalled Pedro Villarreal to take his spot in the bullpen, but Cingrani should retake a spot when healthy.

Cingrani struck out the side in the eighth inning Sunday in the Reds' win over the Nats. Cingrani lowered his ERA to 2.66 with the outing, and avoided the control problems that have plagued him intermittently this season - he had walked three and hit another on Friday night. Cingrani has essentially taken over the set-up duties for the Reds, as sparse as they have been prior to this weekend's sweep of the Nats.

Cingrani earned a hold Saturday, retiring all four batters he faced, striking out three. After seemingly entering the Witness Protection Program earlier this year, Cingrani has pitched four times in the last seven days, allowing one run over 5.1 innings, with six strikeouts and two walks. This was his first hold, and he may keep getting looks in similar situations going forward.

Cingrani pitched two innings in relief Sunday, retiring all six batters he faced, two by strikeout. Perhaps this outing will encourage manager Bryan Price to use him more often, and in more important situations.