The Reds have claimed righty Luke Farrell off waivers from the Cubs, per a team announcement. Cincinnati already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move wasn’t required.
Farrell, 31, has spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues. This will be his second stint with the Reds, for whom he pitched in nine games back in 2017. The son of former Red Sox skipper John Farrell, Luke has totaled 98 2/3 innings at the MLB level and posted a 4.83 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. He’d tossed 11 innings with the Cubs this season, allowing five runs on a dozen hits and three walks with nine punchouts.
Two of Farrell’s four appearances with the Cubs were starts, and he worked multiple innings in every outing with Chicago dating back to late August. He’s maxed out at 71 pitches during this stretch, so he could give the Reds an option to make a spot start, if needed, or otherwise provide some length in the bullpen. Farrell is out of minor league options, so he can’t be sent down to Triple-A without first clearing waivers; he’d need to be designated for assignment if Cincinnati wishes to remove him from the 28-man roster at any point.
Love the “more to come” tag. How much possibly more can be said other than the Reds claimed Luke Farrell?
Luke Farrell was walked-off in back-to-back games during 2017. One of the reasons there was a game 163.
I got a chuckle that Cincinnati felt the urge to claim him.
My mistake. It was 2018.
Don’t worry Donny—I painfully remember—the second one was a Dexter Fowler two run homer down the line with two outs after the Cubs scored in extras to take the lead —and it didn’t prevent the Cubs from seeking him later in life. I’m sure he will be around again.
Warm body to finish out the year…check.
Makes the minimum…check
Can get mlb hitters out…not a requirement.
Would not be surprised if he is DFA’d after starting one of the games in double header vs Pirates next week.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Reds shut down Lodolo soon, and let Greene and Ashcraft finish out the season on the IL and/or on rehab assignments. They’ve all gotten plenty of MLB innings under their belt at this point. No reason to risk additional injury just to play out the string. Time to call in the waiver claims.
Why on earth would the Reds shut down Lodolo? You want him innings limited again each year for the next four years. He’s never thrown more than 120, if he wants to be a starter in the bigs they have to stretch him out.
Lodolo hasn’t pitched the inn8ngs over the last to years to warrant sending him out there again…protect him, is it that hard to see?>
I might be an old school catcher, but I have never seen that limiting innings really reduced injuries that much. There are more Tommy John surgeries than ever. I sometimes think they coddle these guys too much.
Wow what a coincidence!! His father has been in their scouting dept since 2018. I wonder how he convinced them that his son isn’t terrible at baseball?