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Reds Promote Noelvi Marte

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The Reds called up infield prospect Noelvi Marte today, with the corresponding move of Kevin Newman placed on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. Marte is already on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster but he will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Robert Murray of Fansided was the first to report that Marte was on his way to the Show.

Marte, now 21, was a high-profile international signing of the Mariners. That club gave him a signing bonus of $1.55MM in 2018 and he quickly came to be regarded as one of the top prospects in their system. A strong professional debut in 2019 got him into top 100 territory, with Baseball America ranking him #92 in the league going into 2020.

With the pandemic wiping out the minor leagues in 2020, Marte and all other prospects missed a year of game action. But he got back on track with a solid showing in 2021, his first full professional season. He hit .273/.366/.459 between Single-A and High-A for a wRC+ of 118 while also stealing 24 bases. Going into 2022, he was considered the 18th-best prospect in the league by Baseball America, with FanGraphs having him in the #13 slot.

He came to the Reds midway through 2022 as part of the Luis Castillo trade, one of four young players that Cincinnati added to their system in that deal. Between the two organizations, he hit .279/.371/.458 at the High-A level for a wRC+ of 131. Despite those strong numbers, his prospect stock faded a bit. Baseball America dropped him to #63 overall going into 2023, noting that opposing pitchers were starting to realize they could exploit his weakness on breaking balls. He also started to move from shortstop to third base, diminishing his future value somewhat. FanGraphs expressed similar concerns in bumping him down to #91.

This year, he started at Double-A, hitting .281/.356/.464 at that level, swiping 10 bags in 50 games. He’s also hit .280/.365/.455 in 39 Triple-A games while racking up another eight steals. With the heightened offensive environment of the International League this year, that Triple-A line translates to a 105 wRC+, above-average but only slightly. Baseball America currently ranks him 52nd overall with FanGraphs at #71.

Regardless of the recent fluctuations in the evaluations from prospect watchers, this is yet another exciting young player promoted by the Reds in what is shaping up to be a remarkable season in that department. Given their recent struggles, few observers picked them to be competitive coming into the year. But they have been continually promoting one prospect after another, with Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Andrew Abbott all promoted for their debuts this year. Those players have joined other youngsters who had previously made it to the big leagues, such as Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Spencer Steer and many more.

That youth movement has shot the Reds into the postseason picture, as they are currently tied with the Marlins for the final Wild Card spot with about six weeks left on the schedule. Now they will add Marte into the mix and hope that he can add further fuel to the fire for the final playoff push. How he fits into the puzzle remains to be seen, as he’s primarily played shortstop and third base this year. De La Cruz will likely stick at short but Marte could perhaps take some time at the hot corner. Steer has been getting the bulk of playing time there lately but has also played some left field and could perhaps slot in there more often, taking playing time from Stuart Fairchild.

The timing of the promotion is worth noting, as Marte will likely retain rookie status going into 2024. Position players are considered rookies as long as they start a season with less than 130 at-bats and fewer than 46 days on a big league roster. There are now 44 days left until the end of the regular season, meaning Marte will still be a rookie next year as long as he falls shy of 130 at-bats.

That’s a significant distinction under the current collective bargaining agreement, as the Prospect Promotion Incentive can provide extra draft picks for clubs as a way to disincentive service time manipulation. A position player who had appeared on at least two Top 100 lists at BA, ESPN and MLB Pipeline the preceding offseason can earn his club a bonus draft choice if a) the team carries them on the MLB roster for a full service year and b) the player wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons. It’s surely not a coincidence that Masyn Winn of the Cardinals and Nolan Schanuel of the Angels were both promoted as soon as they could have been while still having the ability to net their club an extra draft pick next year, with Marte now a third notable prospect promoted in recent days.

But that will be a concern for the future. In the interim, it’s yet another domino of the Reds’ incredible youth movement tipped over as they try to surge into the playoffs. With Marte joining the other young players on the roster, while pitchers like Greene and Lodolo are coming back from injuries, the fans in Cincinnati could be in for an exciting few weeks as well as a future that looks increasingly bright.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Notes: Newman, India, Lively, Marte, Fraley

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Noelvi Marte’s arrival in the majors is the big news out of Cincinnati today, but Marte’s promotion came with a notable corresponding move.  The Reds announced that infielder Kevin Newman was placed (retroactive to August 16) on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain.

The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, though even if Newman has suffered a Grade 1 strain, any setback or lingering effects could mean that his 2023 season is over.  The 30-year-old has hit .253/.311/.364 over 253 plate appearances in his first season with the Reds, after being acquired from the Pirates back in November.

Newman and Jose Barrero shared the starting shortstop role before Matt McLain’s promotion in mid-May, as Barrero was ultimately sent to the minors and Newman became a pure utilityman.  Newman made some starts at second base and third baseman, but even that playing time dwindled as more and more of Cincinnati’s star infield prospects gradually made their way to the Show.

This is Newman’s second IL stint of the year, after he missed a 10-day minimum in July dealing with gastritis.  Heading into the trade deadline, Newman was seen as a potential or even likely trade chip given the Reds’ increasingly crowded infield picture, yet Cincinnati either couldn’t find an appropriate deal or simply opted to hang onto the veteran as an experienced depth option.  Rather than a trade, this oblique injury has now unfortunately taken Newman out of the picture for at least the next 10 days.

Manager David Bell provided the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith (X link) and other reporters with updates on other injured Reds players, including the news that Jonathan India will undergo another MRI on Thursday.  Since a previous MRI revealed a worsened tear in India’s plantar fascia, the second baseman was already expected to be out of action until at least a week into September, with some question as to whether or not India would be able to return at all this season.

The next MRI comes a few days before the end of India’s planned two-week shutdown from running, so the test will reveal if the tear has continued to widen, or if the shutdown has been effective in at least limiting the damage.  It seems likely that India will require some type of procedure to address his plantar fasciitis, though he and the Reds hope that any surgery might be able to be held off until the offseason.

Bell also said that Ben Lively will make another rehab outing before the club considers reinstating him from the 15-day IL.  Lively has twice been sidelined due to right pectoral strains this season, with his most recent absence starting with his IL placement on August 2.  With his 15 days now up, Lively is eligible to be activated at any time, though he has thrown only 5 2/3 combined innings over two previous rehab starts, with an ungainly 15.88 ERA.

The injuries to India and Newman have provided an unwelcome answer to Cincinnati’s potential infield surplus, as there is now plenty of room for the Reds to find playing time for their up-and-comers.  Bell said that Marte will be the regular third baseman, with Spencer Steer now moving into more regular work in left field.  Steer has already seen a good deal of left field time this season, as his versatility has been almost as useful to the Reds as his potent bat.  Steer has bounced between left field, first base, and third base, and also even picked up a few appearances as a second baseman.

Jake Fraley is another Reds player looking to return from the IL before 2023 is over, though Fraley told Goldsmith that he’ll need offseason surgery to properly fix a fracture in his left foot and a cracked fourth metatarsal.  Fraley was presented with the option of undergoing the season-ending procedure now, but he is instead trying to tough it out, ramping up his baseball activities to include a live batting practice today and an increased running program.

There’s certainly some real risk for Fraley, as he said that doctors told him that playing on the fractured foot could result in a clear break.  However, “the reason why they’re ok with me playing through this is that even if I do something like that, which would be a worst case scenario, it doesn’t change the recovery time of the surgery,” Fraley said, noting that he is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training.  Fraley is willing to gamble further injury in order to be part of the Reds’ playoff push, saying “if you tell me there’s a 1% chance with a cool team like this, I’m going all-in.”

Reds Targeted Brady Singer at Trade Deadline

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The Reds reportedly targeted Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer at the trade deadline, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Needless to say, their efforts were unsuccessful, as Cincinnati’s only move at the deadline was to trade for Athletics reliever Sam Moll.

It’s no surprise that the Reds were searching for starting pitching. Entering the deadline, their starters had a 5.21 ERA, and four-fifths of their Opening Day rotation was either on the injured list or had already been released. According to a report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Reds were even willing to trade Jonathan India, once thought to be an untouchable piece of their core, to acquire young, controllable pitching. They were also linked to Eduardo Rodriguez and were said to be scouting the Mets, possibly with interest in Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander.

The 27-year-old Singer meets the young and controllable criteria better than any of those veterans; he is under team control through 2026. Furthermore, unlike Rodriguez, Scherzer, and Verlander, he doesn’t have any no-trade protection in his contract, so he couldn’t have vetoed a deal to the borderline-contending Reds. In other words, he made good sense as a target for Cincinnati on a relatively thin trade market.

Singer looked like a solid, mid-rotation starter right out of the gate in 2020, pitching to a 4.06 ERA in 12 starts. However, he ran into trouble down the stretch in 2021, posting a 5.70 ERA in the second half. The Royals moved him to the bullpen to open the 2022 season but quickly changed their minds, sending him to Triple-A to ramp back up into a starting role. Upon his return from the minors, he looked better than ever, putting up a 3.11 ERA and 3.43 SIERA in 24 games.

Unfortunately, Singer ran into another rough patch at the start of the 2023 campaign. After 15 starts, he was sporting a 6.34 ERA and 4.67 SIERA in 76 2/3 innings pitched. Since that day, however, the right-hander has turned things around once again. In nine outings, he has a 3.05 ERA and 3.90 SIERA while averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per game. He cut his walk rate without sacrificing strikeouts, and he’s allowing far less hard contact, too. That’s exactly the kind of pitcher he looked like last season.

Ultimately the Royals were not compelled to trade Singer. He had only just begun to reverse his fortunes by the deadline, and Kansas City had little reason to sell low on such a promising arm. He still has three years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him, and it’s possible the Royals could be competitive in the AL Central within that time. If not, they still have ample opportunity to find a trade.

Similarly, the Reds weren’t facing any pressure to make a major deal. With so many talented young players under team control for the next several years, their competitive window is just beginning to open. They could have used another starter for the stretch run, but surely they were hesitant to add a pitcher who had struggled most of the season.

If Singer continues to succeed over the next six weeks, the Reds might be inclined to check back in with the Royals this winter. Cincinnati has several promising arms on the roster, including Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, and Lyon Richardson, but this team could certainly use a more established starter to anchor the rotation. The Reds have one of the better farm systems in the game (N0. 12 at Baseball America, No. 5 at MLB Pipeline), while the Royals have one of the worst (No. 29 at BA and MLB Pipeline), so Cincinnati should have all the necessary pieces if they decide to make a deal.

Reds Release Luke Weaver

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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.

Reds Sign Chasen Shreve To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed veteran reliever Chasen Shreve to a minor league contract, according to the transaction log on MLB.com. He has been assigned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

Shreve agreed to a minor league deal with the Tigers this offseason and made the major league roster out of spring training. He made 47 appearances for the club before being DFA’d, pitching to a 4.79 ERA in 41 1/3 innings pitched. Despite his high ERA, he posted a 3.66 SIERA and the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career. Even more impressive, his 33.9% chase rate ranks in the 92nd percentile of MLB pitchers, per Baseball Savant. Nevertheless, he was designated for assignment to make room for Will Vest on the Tigers’ 26-man roster. Detroit is still on the hook for Shreve’s salary, so Cincinnati will only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends on the MLB roster.

The Reds will be the seventh organization Shreve has played for since he was drafted by the Braves in 2010. He will report to Triple-A, but the southpaw will serve as valuable depth for the major league club. With Reiver Sanmartin out for the season, the Reds only have two left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster: Alex Young and Sam Moll. Young has pitched well this year, putting up a 2.96 ERA in 53 games, while Moll has done excellent work since he was acquired from the Athletics at the trade deadline, pitching to a 2.35 ERA in his first seven appearances. Still, Cincinnati will be glad to have some veteran depth at Triple-A. Since Shreve was acquired before the September 1 deadline, he will be eligible for the Reds’ postseason roster should the team make the playoffs.

The Reds bullpen has struggled over the past month, with a 4.85 ERA and 0.0 FanGraphs WAR in 27 games. They have blown four saves in 13 chances and lost seven of 11 decisions in that time. As the Reds compete for the NL Central crown (or a Wild Card berth), they’ll hope to see their bullpen return to its first-half form. Over the team’s first 95 games, Reds relievers posted a 3.86 ERA and ranked sixth in baseball with 3.5 fWAR.

Reds Option Nick Senzel, Select Henry Ramos, Outright Eduardo Salazar

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TODAY: Salazar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).

AUGUST 11: The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Henry Ramos. In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville while right-hander Eduardo Salazar has been designated for assignment.

Ramos returns to the majors for a second stint this season. The 31-year-old cracked the MLB roster in late April after signing a minor league pact last offseason. He appeared in 18 games, hitting .242/.356/.306 over a career-high 73 trips to the plate. Cincinnati outrighted him off the 40-man roster last month.

A 12-year minor league veteran, Ramos has only 36 games of big league experience. He’s having a strong year in Triple-A, putting up a .315/.399/.522 line through 54 contests with Louisville. He has walked at a strong 12% clip against a lower than average 19.2% strikeout rate while connecting on nine homers. A switch-hitter, Ramos has shredded left-handed pitching at a .367/.430/.556 clip between Triple-A and the big leagues this year.

The righty-hitting Senzel has also mashed against southpaws, putting up a .305/.367/.537 line with the platoon advantage. He’s a .175/.251/.281 hitter when up against right-handed pitching, however. Senzel hasn’t been effective against pitchers of either handedness of late, posting a .138/.206/.309 mark since the start of June. The former #2 overall pick now has a .219/.290/.368 batting line in 269 trips to the plate on the season.

It has been another underwhelming year for the former top prospect. Cincinnati has graduated plenty of top position player prospects over the past few months, pushing Senzel into a utility role. He’s now off the active roster entirely, optioned for his first minor league stint (excluding injury rehab assignments) since the Reds first promoted him in May 2019.

Senzel is playing this season on a $1.95MM arbitration salary. He is eligible for that process twice more after surpassing the four-year service threshold this spring. It seems increasingly likely he could be non-tendered, though. In just over 1300 major league plate appearances, the 28-year-old owns a .236/.300/.361 slash.

While Senzel remains in the organization and could yet get another look in the next six weeks, the Reds will place Salazar on waivers. The 25-year-old has made his first eight big league appearances this season, allowing 11 runs in 12 2/3 innings. He’d allowed only two runs (one earned) through 13 2/3 Double-A frames this year but has been tagged for an 8.24 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with Louisville.

Salazar has posted huge ground-ball numbers throughout his professional career. He has rarely generated big strikeout tallies, though he did fan upwards of 40% of opponents in his brief but dominant Double-A stint earlier this year. Salazar has ample starting experience in his career but has come out of the bullpen for all 33 appearances this season.

Jonathan India To Remain On 10-Day IL Until At Least September

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Due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Jonathan India was placed on the Reds’ 10-day injured list back on July 29.  The second baseman was initially hopeful that just a minimal 10-day break was all that was required to get him back onto the field, yet now the rest of India’s season could be in question.  As manager David Bell and GM Nick Krall told reporters (including The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer), another MRI revealed that the tear in India’s plantar fascia has gotten worse, resulting in more discomfort for India.

More tests and a second medical opinion is forthcoming, yet for now, Bell said India will be shut down from running for the next two weeks.  From there, India will then begin a rehab period that should last 10-14 days, so the second baseman will now miss at least a portion of September.  Bell acknowledged that this timeline represents a best-case scenario, and Krall described the situation as “wait-and-see,” so there is definitely plenty of uncertainty surrounding whether or not India can return before the 2023 campaign is over.

“My message to [India] was to sit out the two weeks and then do everything we can to get you back for the end of the season and the playoffs.  There’s still a lot left to shoot for to get back for, even if it is towards the end of the season,” Bell said.

Ominously, India said in July that he finally opted to go on the 10-day IL since “I can’t make this worse.  If it’s worse, I’m out the whole year.”  Two weeks later, it seems as though this exact scenario might have happened, if the plantar fascia tear has become even more of an issue.  India’s previous attempt to fight through the pain was clearly having an adverse effect on his play, as he had hit only .202/.287/.333 in his last 129 plate appearances prior to his IL placement.

Even with India struggling, the Reds as a whole didn’t start to stumble until India was actually gone from the active roster.  Cincinnati is 2-8 in the month of August, going from the NL Central lead at the start of the month to falling into third place between the division-leading Brewers and the red-hot Cubs.  A lack of pitching has been the bigger issue than the lineup with or without India, but the Reds will need all hands on deck on both the pitching and hitting fronts if they are to end this skid and get back into a playoff position.  If the Reds have fallen further out of the race by mid-September and India still hasn’t made clear progress in his recovery, it seems quite possible that the team could shut him down entirely until Spring Training.

With so many good young position players joining the team, the Reds technically haven’t had a problem filling in for India, as Matt McLain has played second base, Elly De La Cruz has played shortstop, and Spencer Steer has gotten a large portion of the time at third base.  This looks to be the preferred alignment for the rest of the season until India is back, leaving Cincinnati even more reliant on its young core group.  Though India is only in his third MLB season, he has quickly become a leader within the Reds’ clubhouse, so his absence creates a void even beyond his on-field contributions.

Longtime Reds’ Beat Reporter John Fay Passes Away

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Longtime Reds’ beat reporter John Fay has passed away at age 66. Fay covered the club for more than three decades while working for the Cincinnati Enquirer until retiring three years ago.

Reds’ CEO Bob Castellini released a statement this afternoon via the club’s Twitter account:

“We are saddened and heartbroken to hear about the passing of long-time Reds beat writer John Fay. John had a no-nonsense and direct approach to reporting on the club. He was a thoughtful writer with a good baseball mind and was always well-prepared and honest. It was clear how deeply he cared about the team and its fans. John made a lasting impact with his coverage of the Reds and the entire organization will miss him dearly.”

Dan Horn penned the Enquirer’s obituary, recapping both Fay’s career and his decades-long relationship with his wife Laura, who passed away in January after a battle with breast cancer. Countless former colleagues of Fay’s throughout the industry — including C. Trent Rosecrans and Mark Sheldon — offered their remembrances. MLBTR joins them in sending condolences to Fay’s family, friends and loved ones.

Gutierrez, Dunn Preparing For Bullpen Work

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  • Reds right-handers Justin Dunn and Vladimir Gutierrez both have yet to throw a pitch in the majors this season, spending the entire campaign on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain and Tommy John surgery, respectively. Though both righties have been starting pitchers throughout their careers to this point, each figures to come out of the bullpen upon returning to the big leagues, manager David Bell told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Gutierrez had a solid rookie season with the Reds in 2021 during which he pitched to a roughly league average ERA of 4.74 (99 ERA+) but struggled badly in 36 2/3 innings of work last year prior to going under the knife in July of last year. Dunn, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick who has yet to find success a starter in the big leagues, with a 4.44 ERA and 6.23 FIP in 133 2/3 career innings of work in the majors.

Reds Promote Lyon Richardson

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The Reds announced this morning that they had recalled right-hander Lyon Richardson from Triple-A. Richardson, 23, is slated to make his big league debut when he takes the ball this afternoon for a start against the Nationals. To make room for Richardson on the active roster, right-hander Daniel Duarte was optioned to Triple-A.

Richardson, 23, entered the 2023 campaign as the Reds 13th best prospect according to Fangraphs, though five of the prospects ranked ahead of him have graduated to the big leagues since then. Richardson missed the entire 2022 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery but has broken back onto the scene in a big way this season, advancing from Single-A to Triple-A throughout the year. Overall, Richardson boasts a phenomenal 1.86 ERA in 58 innings of work across 19 starts with a staggering 35.2% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate.

That limited innings total despite regular starts throughout the 2023 campaign comes as a result of the Reds seemingly being careful not to overwork Richardson as he returns from surgery; his pitch count in each start has typically been capped around 50 pitches, with his peak this season standing at just 76. Should Richardson stick on the roster beyond today’s start, those pitch count limitations would seem to indicate he’s more likely to be limited to multi-inning relief appearances rather than continue as a member of the starting rotation going forward.

Making room for Richardson on the active roster is right-hander Daniel Duarte, who has posted a 4.08 ERA (116 ERA+) in 17 2/3 innings of work with the Reds this season, albeit with a less inspiring 5.48 FIP. Duarte heads back to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Louisville for the time being, where he owns a 3.38 ERA in 27 appearances this season, but figures to contribute in Cincinnati down the stretch as a young, optionable bullpen piece.

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