After throwing in the bullpen without any problem, the Cincinnati Reds say Anthony DeSclafani will make his season debut on Friday against the Oakland Athletics.

DeSclafani was expected to be Cincinnati's Opening Day starter, but he strained an oblique during spring training and has been sidelined. He was close to returning last month but had a setback.

"I definitely didn't think it was going to take this long, but I didn't want to try it until I was 100 percent," DeSclafani said. "I'm definitely excited to finally make my debut. I'll have to work on not getting too excited."

He will replace Jon Moscot, who was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis after getting hit hard in his last couple of starts.