CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Reds lost a game to the weather -- a recurring problem this season -- and took a couple more steps toward getting some injured players back on the roster. The opening game of a series with the Chicago Cubs was postponed on Monday following a 57-minute delay to the first pitch. It was the eighth postponement in 12 years at Great American Ball Park. The game wasnt immediately rescheduled. Manager Bryan Price said the game wont be made up during this series. The Cubs visit for a four-game series from July 7-10. "Theres no way well make it up in this series," Price said. "The way it works out, well probably be able to make it up during that series in July before the All-Star break." Rain has been a problem in Cincinnati this season. The Reds have had one game postponed and another suspended overnight because of rain. Theyve had rain delays for four of the 10 games totalling 8 hours, 57 minutes. The teams will stay on schedule with their starters. Chicagos Jeff Samardzija will face the Reds Alfredo Simon on Tuesday night. It will be Simons first scheduled start since an unidentified woman filed a civil lawsuit against him in a Washington, D.C. court last Thursday, claiming he sexually assaulted her in a hotel one year ago. "I take him at his word that nothing happened and hes assured me that hes ready to pitch and his focus is on pitching," Price said. Simon has been one of Cincinnatis best starters while filling in for the injured Mat Latos, who had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee on Feb. 14. Simon is 3-1 with a 1.30 earned run average in four starts. Latos had a setback in his recovery from the knee problem when he developed soreness in his pitching forearm near the elbow. He has resumed playing catch and could get back to throwing off the bullpen mound later this week. "Once we get him on the mound a couple of times, then we go out there and do a simulated game and then get him into rehab games," Price said. "Hes not like starting from square one, even though hes just playing catch now. "If we dont have any setbacks, we should be able to progress pretty quickly through this rehab." Closer Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to throw to Reds batters again on Tuesday before the game. If that goes well, he could start a rehab stint in the minors. Chapman was hit on the forehead by a line drive on March 19 and had a metal plate inserted in his forehead to help fractures heal. "If everything goes well with that (on Tuesday), then we anticipate getting him out on a short rehab and then having him back with us pretty quickly," Price said. Samardzija is trying to break a streak of 11 straight starts without a win since last Aug. 30. Samardzija has pitched well -- quality starts his last eight games -- but the Cubs have scored only 21 runs while he was on the mound in the last 10 games. Last Wednesday, Samardzija left with a 5-2 lead before Arizona rallied for a 7-5 win. The Cubs havent fared well against the Reds overall. They dropped two of three at Wrigley Field this month and havent won the season series against Cincinnati since 2009. Theyre 6-16 against Cincinnati over the last two seasons and 10-28 over the last three. NOTES: Cubs RH Jake Arrieta will be activated off the DL and could start later this week. Hes been sidelined since March 21 with tightness in his pitching shoulder. RH Carlos Villanueva will move into the bullpen. ... RF Nate Schierholtz was going to get a day off. ... The Reds Skip Schumaker started a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Monday. Hes recovering from a separated left shoulder sustained during spring training. Byron Buxton Jersey . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. 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Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has earned a reputation for being one of the most aggressive, think-big executives in the NBA. And its impossible to think any bigger than LeBron James. The Rockets took the first big step toward making a run at James by agreeing to trade Omer Asik and cash considerations to the New Orleans Pelicans for a protected future first-round draft pick, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. The person requested anonymity because the deal cannot be completed until July due to rules in the collective bargaining agreement and salary cap issues. James informed the Miami Heat earlier this week that he is opting out of his contract and will become a free agent when the new league year begins on July 1. Carmelo Anthony did the same with the New York Knicks, meaning two of the most dynamic players in the league are available in the same summer. Morey, whose Rockets were eliminated by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs this season, wants to bring a third star to Houston to team with James Harden and Dwight Howard. To do that, Morey has to free up cap room by trading Asik, a disgruntled big man who requested a trade last season after Howard took his starting spot, and point guard Jeremy Lin to give him about $19 million to throw at James. Many across the league expect James to remain in Miami, where Pat Riley is trying to retool a roster that won two championships and made four straight NBA Finals but was beaten decisively in five games by the San Antonio Spurs to end this season. But Morey can offer James a younger roster with two supporting cast members who are much closer to their primes than Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If they swing and miss on James, Morey is expected to turn his attention to Anthony, perhaps tthe games best pure scorer.dddddddddddd. He could also look at trading for Minnesota All-Star Kevin Love, who can opt out of his contract next summer and has told the Timberwolves that he will not sign a long-term contract with the team. If anyone wondered about Moreys willingness to go big again this summer after winning the Dwight Howard sweepstakes last year and trading for Harden in 2012, he answered that emphatically on less than 24 hours before the NBA draft was scheduled to be held on Thursday night. The Rockets also avoid having to pay Asik a $15 million balloon payment in the final year of his contract, but it will count just over $8.3 million against the Pelicans cap next season. But the Rockets arent the only potential winners in this deal. Getting Asik is a significant move for the Pelicans, who got one of the leagues best interior defenders to pair with rising star Anthony Davis. Asik only averaged just over 20 minutes per game in 48 games last season. But his unhappiness with his situation behind Howard and a few nagging injuries certainly played large roles in his relative lack of production. He averaged 5.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot 53 per cent from the field last season. But in a starting role the previous season, Asik averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 boards and 1.1 blocks in all 82 games. Asik will have a much more prominent role in New Orleans next season, and his presence should allow the super-athletic, ultra-instinctual Davis even more freedom to roam on the defensive end and create havoc for opposing pick-and-roll tandems. New Orleans has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, and GM Dell Demps didnt hesitate to give up a first-round pick to acquire a big building block that will make life easier for Davis and help the Pelicans try to make a jump in the powerful Western Conference. 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