August 18: The Reds have officially released Weaver, the team announced on Friday. He is now a free agent.
August 16: The Reds have designated starting pitcher Luke Weaver for assignment, the team has announced. They have recalled Alan Busenitz from Triple-A Louisville to take his place on the 26-man roster.
The Cardinals selected Weaver in the first round of the 2014 draft, and he spent the first five years of his professional career in the Cardinals organization. Following the 2018 season, he was one of three players sent to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Paul Goldschmidt, famously one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory. In his first three seasons with Arizona, Weaver was an average starting pitcher (4.45 ERA, 4.19 SIERA), but he missed significant time with injuries in 2019 and 2021.
In 2022, the Diamondbacks moved him to the bullpen, where he posted a 3.55 ERA in 11 appearances. He was traded to the Royals at the deadline and continued to pitch out of the ’pen for Kansas City. The Royals non-tendered him after the season rather than paying him an estimated $3MM in arbitration.
As a free agent, Weaver signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Reds. He missed the first three weeks of the 2023 season nursing a strained elbow flexor and struggled upon his return, posting a 6.87 ERA in 97 innings pitched. His underlying numbers are slightly better (4.78 SIERA, 5.75 xERA), but it’s impossible to deny that the 2023 season has gone poorly for the 29-year-old. He has failed to escape the fifth inning in 12 of his 21 starts, and his strikeout rate has fallen to a career-worst 19%.
The Reds will need to place Weaver on outright waivers within seven days. The right-hander has more than five years of MLB service time, which means that if he clears waivers, he will have the option to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues without sacrificing any salary remaining on his contract.
Hunter Greene, who has been out since mid-June with hip soreness, is expected to make his return this weekend, when he can take what would have been Weaver’s next turn in the rotation. Still, the Reds will need one additional starting pitcher. They have gotten by with a four-man rotation since August 7, when Lyon Richardson was optioned to Triple-A. However, after an off-day on Thursday, they’ll play 20 games in the next 20 days. Brett Kennedy is expected to make a start in the coming days, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Ben Lively will also be a candidate to join the rotation when he finishes his rehab stint at Triple-A.
The Reds have had tough luck in the rotation this year. Greene and Nick Lodolo have spent significant time on the IL, as have Justin Dunn and Connor Overton, while veterans Weaver and Luis Cessa have struggled. Cincinnati’s starters have a 5.34 ERA on the season and a 6.35 ERA in August, which goes a long way toward explaining why the Reds have a negative run differential despite boasting an offense that has scored the fourth-most runs in the National League. If this team makes the playoffs, it will be thanks to their offense, not their pitching. Still, they’ll need more from their rotation to pull ahead in a tight NL race.
Just a few days after Carson Kelly was released. Man, that Goldschmidt trade for Arizona was arguably worse than the Arenado trade for the Rockies even though the Rockies gets roasted for that one all the time here.
This might be more satisfying for Reds fans than De La Cruz promotion. Huge addition by subtraction.
oh yes, Maui………guess 125 hits in 89 innings didn’t cut it!
Weaver is arguably the worst pitcher on a competitive team with the longest stint in rotation. 21 starts lol
Thought Mike Minor had that dubious honor sewed up last year, but Weaver lukes to be a more major dissapointment.
Ironic that the DFA’d him about a week after I asked Reds fans why Weaver was still in the rotation when practically every start he’s made since May has gone sideways. The fact that CIN has done as well as they have this year with a horrid rotation from top to bottom is a miracle.
Before they left AZ this spring, Krall said this was a season of transition. Still is. Just because Reds have been competitive is no good reason for Krall to abondon his plan- nor will he.
BTW, like that guy- for that reason among others.
You know what Will Farrell says…
More Cowgill!
It’s Wednesday night. You know what time it is. It’s Busenitz time.
It’s Weaver chicken fingers night here.
Wednesday is always Taco Tuesday’s leftovers.
About daggone time. Several months too late, but about time.
As for another dumpster dive replacement that could have been avoided if they did what they needed to at the deadline, no comment.
Oh.
And soon we will have Hunter Greene back
Sunday!
The Cards fleeced the Reds for Goldie
Cardinals fleeced the Diamondbacks for Goldschmidt.
can’t believe you even had to correct that guy, 13…..obviously a huge fan
It’s one of the most lopsided trades in recent history, plus Goldschmidt is a Hall of Fame player, he’s hard to miss haha!
Why haven’t the Royals designated that 3-13 (lucky hes not 3-15), 6.30 ERA Lyles for assignment??
With the amount of money they’re paying him, they might as well try to squeeze every inning they can out of him in 2023. Then they’ll hope he turns it around enough in 2024 to get anything of value for him at the deadline
Also,I know he isn’t being paid a ton. But for the Royals, it’s a pretty penny.
I would call $8M for this guy a ton. With a nearly 5.2 career ERA prior to 2023 he must have the best agent in the world to get a rediculous 2 year deal worth $17M. The Royals were crazy. SMH
Because the Royals aren’t going to pay him to pitch for someone else. That’s a Mets thing…
Because the Royals aren’t remotely in the playoff picture and only need their pitchers to eat innings for the rest of the season.
They’re on the hook for him in ‘24, and they’re not gonna eat that money. The saddest part about the horrific records put up by Lyles and Grienke this year is that KC has no other ML ready starters to replace them with. Like the Reds they have to keep running these guys out there and hope for the best which never happens.
Reds have the famous TBD going Friday.
FINALLY! LOL
No more BP! No more BP!
Hate to see players fail but Weaver can’t say he didn’t get a proper shot. 21 games started with 2 wins and an ERA approaching 7 just isn’t good enough.
What’s weird is that in 2019, Weaver and Carson Kelly both had pretty good years and for a short time it looked like the Diamondbacks managed to get back their catcher of the future and a pretty good starting pitcher.
But since then…not so much.
No room for Weaver after all the TDL movement that Castellini authorized…?
There’s always room for Weaver in my freezer. And there’s even more room in my oven. But the most room is in my stomach cuz it starts a-rumblin’ once them tenders come outta the oven and the tasty BBQ sauce goes on ‘em.
weaverchicken.com/
Fun fact. The Reds were 12-9 in games he pitched.
Despite the fact he almost single handedly burned out the bullpen the last four months.
Question is what would the team won-loss have been with a pitcher with a 4.50 ERA have been? Maybe 15-6? The difference would have us in 1st.
White Sox will claim him.
Perfect Angels starter.
Wow.