GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — A sore right elbow and shoulder will sideline Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto for the start of the season.

Cueto flew back to Cincinnati and had an MRI that found inflammation in the shoulder. He had to leave his last two spring training starts because of soreness. Doctors have advised him not to throw for at least a week.

The Reds plan to leave him behind to work out in Arizona when they head north to start the season against Milwaukee on March 31.

The injury forces manager Dusty Baker to change his rotation. He’s now planning to go with Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood and Mike Leake.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Right-handed starter Johnny Cueto will miss the start of the season because of an inflamed pitching shoulder, forcing the Cincinnati Reds to juggle their rotation.

Cueto had to leave his last two spring training starts because of soreness in his right arm. He returned to Cincinnati over the weekend for an examination by Dr. Timothy Kremchek and an MRI that found mild inflammation in the shoulder but no significant injury.

“Everything is structurally fine,” general manager Walt Jocketty said Monday. “Dr. Kremchek recommended that he not throw for a week to 10 days, then begin a throwing program.”

The Reds plan to leave Cueto at their training complex in Arizona when they head north to open the season on Thursday, March 31 against Milwaukee.

The injury forced manager Dusty Baker to rearrange his rotation less than two weeks before the opener. He had planned to use Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo and Cueto at the top of the rotation, with Homer Bailey, left-hander Travis Wood and Mike Leake in the mix for the last two spots.

Baker tentatively reordered the top of his rotation as Volquez, Bailey and Arroyo, with Wood and Leake filling the last two spots in some order. Wood would be the only left-hander in the rotation.

Cueto got a $27 million, four-year deal last January, allowing both sides to avoid salary arbitration. The 24-year-old pitcher went 12-7 last season and led the staff with 138 strikeouts. The bullpen blew six save chance behind him, the second-highest total for any pitcher in the majors.

He was especially good late in the season, when the Reds were closing in on the NL Central title and their first playoff appearance in 15 years. He made quality starts in six of his last seven appearances. He started the third and final game of the Reds’ playoff series against Philadelphia, losing 2-0.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

The Cincinnati Reds and backup catcher Ryan Hanigan have agreed to a three-year, $4 million deal with a chance to make $4.8 million.

Hanigan will get a $300,000 signing bonus with a $450,000 salary for this year. He’ll then make a base salary of $1.2 million in 2012 with the possibility of another $400,000 in base escalators.

Hanigan’s base salary for 2013 will be $2.05 million, plus another $400,000 in possible escalators.

“This gives him some security,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said on Monday. “He’s worked hard on learning how to drive in runs. He’s always ready and always helpful.”

The way the deal is structured, the more playing time he gets, the more he’ll be paid like a starter.

The negotiations between the Reds and agent Tom O’Connell had been ongoing over the last six months.

Buster Olney is a senior MLB writer for ESPN The Magazine. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — What I like, and don’t like, about the Reds:

Likes

• These guys, again, will score. A lot. The Reds led the NL in both runs scored and home runs in 2010 and nearly every essential ingredient returns for 2011. That starts with NL MVP Joey Votto, who smacked 37 homers, batted .324 and has established himself as a Triple Crown candidate. Jay Bruce (25 homers), Drew Stubbs (22), Scott Rolen (20), Brandon Phillips (18) and Jonny Gomes (18) add to Thumper’s Row.

• Look for second baseman Brandon Phillips’ offensive numbers to improve. He suffered a badly bruised hand when he was hit by a Santiago Casilla pitch in San Francisco in late August and was not the same after. He stubbornly stayed in the lineup looking to help the Reds win and looking to keep himself sharp for when the playoffs started. Phillips’ 18 homers were his lowest total since 2006, his 59 RBI were his fewest ever over a full season — as were his 16 steals.

• Cincinnati’s defense is golden. The Reds, who set a club record with a .988 fielding percentage in 2010, earned three Gold Gloves last summer: Third baseman Rolen, second baseman Phillips and pitcher Bronson Arroyo. And in the one significant lineup swap from last year, the Reds let shortstop Orlando Cabrera walk and are planning to go with Paul Janish. The Reds like Janish’s glove, and he did hit .260 in 82 games last season. They do not have exceedingly high offensive expectations for Janish given their prolific bats all around him. If he does the job on defense and hits a little, that will suffice (though manager Dusty Baker likes veterans and will be tempted to use Edgar Renteria at short).

• Right-hander Edinson Volquez, an All-Star in 2008, is entering his first full season some 18 months after undergoing Tommy John ligament transfer surgery. He made it back after the All-Star break last season, starting 12 games (4-3, 4.31). Best thing about that is it gave him a jump start on 2011. “Last year he was overthrowing a lot, and his command suffered,” Reds pitching coach Bryan Price says. “This kid is a strike thrower who gets in trouble when he tries to do too much. He can average one strikeout an inning and walk less than two hitters per nine innings. He has the ability to be that type of pitcher. And that will lead to a lot of innings.”

Dislikes

• No definitive leadoff man. As was the case last year, manager Dusty Baker likely will rotate a handful of Reds through the top spot in the order. In 2010, the Reds used seven different leadoff hitters, with Phillips, Cabrera and Stubbs getting the bulk of the starts in that slot. “The primo guy probably is Stubbs, but is he ready to do that yet?” Baker says. “I’m not going to tear up my whole lineup just to find somebody. … We still led the league in runs scored last year. What are you going to try and do, lead the whole universe?”

• The rotation’s 4.05 ERA last season ranked 10th in the NL. Part of that is because Great American Ballpark is a bandbox that surrenders cheap home runs. So the Reds likely are not ever going to rank among the league’s pitching leaders. But NL Central rival Milwaukee has added Zack Greinke this year, and the Phillies, who eliminated the Reds in the playoffs last October, feature Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and others. Cincy’s rotation is young and growing. It is good enough for the Reds to contend. But can it be dominant enough to play deep into October?

• The Reds this spring need to sort out middle relievers who can get them from whomever is starting that night to the late-innings parade of Bill Bray, Nick Massett, Logan Ondrusek, Aroldis Chapman and closer Francisco Cordero. There are two spots on a projected 12-man staff for that. Hello Jordan Smith … or Jared Burton … or Danny Herrera … or Sam LeCure … or Carlos Fisher.