Hays (calf) is showing improvement but is not expected to return to the lineup until the Reds return home from a road trip April 11, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "It's not necessarily fair to him to put a timetable, but I think the goal is when we come back from San Francisco," manager Terry Francona said Sunday morning.

EDGE Analysis

Hays sustained a calf injury late in spring training and is eligible to come off the IL on April 3, when Cincinnati begins a seven-game trip to Milwaukee and San Francisco. The Reds will have to play without their left fielder and projected cleanup hitter longer than originally expected. Gavin Lux has filled in for Hays in left field the first three games of the season.