The Cincinnati Reds made a major commitment to their pitching staff when they signed Hunter Greene to a long-term contract extension. But as the Reds look towards the future, Cincinnati wants to ensure Greene isn't the only pitcher sticking around for a while.

The Reds are trying to sign Nick Lodolo to an extension, via Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Lodolo is under team control through the 2027 season and is eligible for arbitration beginning in 2025. However, before going through any contractual hoops, the Reds are looking to lock up Lodolo to form a future potentially dominant 1-2 punch with Greene.

Nick Lodolo was drafted by Cincinnati with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The left-hander made his big league debut in 2022, starting 19 games. Lodolo put up a 4-7 record with a 3.66 ERA and a 131/39 K/BB ratio over his first 103.1 major league innings.

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Lodolo dealt with a back injury through his rookie season. He entered 2023 healthy and has already pitched four games for the Reds. He holds a 2-1 record with a 4.98 ERA and a 31/7 K/BB ratio. Lodolo allowed two runs or less in his first three starts of the season. His 4.2 inning eight-run performance in his last outing has elevated his ERA.

Still, the former first-round pick has shown massive improvement in year two. His strikeout numbers still look superb as he has continued to limit the walks. Cincinnati has clearly noticed Lodolo's potential. After locking up Hunter Greene, the Reds will turn to Lodolo and look to lock down another key part of their rotation of the future.