SPORTS DAILY: Can’t the Reds get a pleasant surprise for once?

The jarring news about Homer Bailey on Wednesday brought fresh attention to just how foolish it was to lavish that six-year, $105 million contract on him and how there’s nothing anyone can do about it now.

Bailey and his riches will start the season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow, the Reds said.

Guy can’t catch a break. In the last few years he’s had Tommy John surgery to fix his ulnar collateral ligament, an operation to repair his flexor mass, and now this. It’s as if the baseball gods are exacting a price for allowing him to throw two no-hitters.

And suddenly that trade of journeyman Dan Straily to the Miami Marlins a few weeks ago for several prospects doesn’t look so wise, even if it kind of made sense at the time.

>>HAL MCCOY: More bad luck for Bailey, Reds

The Reds chose to sell high on Straily, who emerged from obscurity to win 14 games for a last-place team in 2016 after being claimed on waivers.

As for Bailey, it’s not clear how much of the season is lost, but spring training just got a little more interesting with another rotation spot up for grabs.

What the Reds really need now is a pleasant surprise for a change as opposed to a devastating one. They need Amir Garrett to take a giant leap. They need Brandon Finnegan to show last season was just the beginning, Anthony DeSclafani to evolve into an actual ace and Cody Reed to start figuring it out.

They can’t expect another Straily to fall from the heavens, but maybe the new Straily is Bronson Arroyo and the veteran right-hander can do a Bartolo Colon impression and pitch effectively past his 40th birthday.

Maybe Arroyo comes back from the dead and fills Bailey’s spot. Maybe the Reds don’t fall out of contention by Mother’s Day. Maybe Brandon Phillips finally gets it that he’s not wanted.

And maybe I’ll wake up from this dream.

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