Lyon Richardson Elects Free Agency
The Reds have successfully sent right-hander Lyon Richardson and left-hander Brandon Leibrandt through waivers unclaimed, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Both pitchers were designated for assignment earlier this week. Leibrandt has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Louisville while Richardson has elected free agency.
Richardson, 26, becomes a free agent for the first time. The Reds took him in the second round of the 2018 draft. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2022, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He spent the next three seasons getting frequently shuttled between Triple-A and the majors, exhausting his three option years in the process.
The Reds sent him through waivers in January. Since that was his first career outright and he had less than three years of service, he had to accept an assignment to the minors. He was added back to the roster last week as the club was dealing with a number of pitching injuries. He made two appearances before getting bumped back off the roster. Now that he has been outrighted a second time, he has the right to elect free agency and has done so.
As a free agent, he should be limited to minor league offers. He is out of options and all 29 clubs just passed a chance to grab him off waivers. But teams will presumably be interested in adding him as non-roster depth.
As mentioned, he is a former second-round pick. He has shown some intriguing stuff on the farm. A former starter, he has been in a primary relief role since last year. Dating back to the start of 2025, he has logged 62 1/3 Triple-A innings. His 4.48 earned run average isn’t too impressive but his 24.7% strikeout rate is strong and he has induced ground balls on almost half the balls in play he has allowed. His four-seamer and sinker average in the upper-90s and he also features a slider and changeup.
He hasn’t yet been able to translate that into major league results, as he has a 6.67 ERA in 56 2/3 big league innings, but there’s no real risk on a minor league deal. It’s also possible that Richardson simply reunites with the Reds on a new deal, if he doesn’t find anything too enticing elsewhere.
While Richardson has only been a part of one professional organization in his career, Leibrandt is more towards the journeyman end of the spectrum. The 33-year-old has been with the Phillies, Marlins, Cubs, Reds and Yankees over the years, mostly in the minors. He has also spent time with the High Point Rockers in the independent Atlantic League and the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League.
He started this year with the Reds on a minor league deal. He posted a 5.23 ERA over 11 Triple-A starts. He was called up earlier this week to provide a fresh arm during Cincinnati’s aforementioned injury situation. He tossed six innings in an emergency bullpen game when Chase Burns was sick, allowing five earned runs in the process. He was promptly bumped off the roster after that and will now return to his role as a Triple-A depth arm.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Reds Designate Brandon Leibrandt, Lyon Richardson For Assignment
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Zach McCambley and recalled fellow righty Luis Mey. In corresponding moves, lefty Brandon Leibrandt and righty Lyon Richardson have been designated for assignment.
The Reds have been making frequent roster moves on the pitching side in recent days, as they try to cover for some injuries. On Friday, Graham Ashcraft hit the 60-day injured list with a sprained UCL, with the club selecting Yunior Marté to replace him. The next day, Pierce Johnson hit the IL with elbow inflammation and the club selected Richardson to the roster in his place, designating Kyle Nicolas for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Yesterday, the club selected Leibrandt and designated Marté for assignment.
Chase Burns was supposed to start yesterday’s game but was scratched due to illness. He hasn’t been placed on the IL and may start Wednesday’s game but the Reds had to improvise yesterday. Richardson tossed the first inning, allowing four runs. Caleb Ferguson tossed two scoreless, followed by Leibrandt going six, allowing five runs in a game the Reds dropped to the Royals 9-2. Richardson and Leibrandt have now been quickly bumped into DFA limbo to get fresh arms into the mix.
Leibrandt, 33, now has 21 1/3 innings of major league experience in scattered fashion. He threw nine innings over five appearances for the Marlins in 2020, then logged 6 1/3 for the 2024 Reds, followed by yesterday’s six. He has a 5.91 earned run average in that time. He has a 4.14 ERA in 385 Triple-A innings and has also bounced to independent ball and the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan.
Richardson, 26, was a second-round pick of the Reds back in 2018. He mostly worked as a starter on his way up the minor league ladder but struggled in that role upon reaching Triple-A. In 2025, he was in a primary relief role with mixed results. He tossed 32 Triple-A innings with a 4.22 ERA. His 23.5% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate were both around average while his 50% strikeout rate was quite strong. In 37 2/3 innings in the majors, he got ground balls at a similar clip but his 17.4% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate were both subpar.
He exhausted his final option year in 2025 and the Reds were able to outright him off the roster in the offseason. He began this year as non-roster depth, tossing 30 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.75 ERA. His 10.7% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 26% of opponents while inducing grounders on 48.7% of balls in play. The poor ERA was partially due to an unfortunate 52.5% strand rate, which is why his 3.62 FIP painted a more flattering picture.
That got him back up to the majors but only for one subpar outing as an emergency opener. He’ll likely end up back on the waiver wire. Since he just cleared in January, he could clear again, unless a club snakebit by injuries takes a flier on him. Since he has already been outrighted once in his career, he would now have the right to elect free agency if he is outrighted again in the coming days.
McCambley, 27, has spent most of his career in the Marlins organization until recently. The Phillies took him in the Rule 5 draft but he was returned to the Marlins at the end of spring training. He was flipped to the Reds last month in exchange for outfielder Rece Hinds.
His Triple-A numbers have been encouraging apart from a lack of control. Between the Marlins and Reds this year, he has thrown 30 1/3 innings at the top minor league level with a 2.37 ERA. He has given a free pass to 14.9% of opponents but has struck out 30.6% of batters faced while inducing grounders on 53.4% of balls in play. The ERA is nice but he has benefitted from a .254 batting average on balls in play and 86.6% strand rate, so his 4.54 FIP is almost double his ERA. It’s been an unusual few months in terms of transactions but he is now finally in position to make his major league debut.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene, Imagn Images
Reds Designate Kyle Nicolas For Assignment, Select Lyon Richardson
The Reds are shuffling the bullpen. Right-hander Pierce Johnson is headed to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced. Righty Lyon Richardson is returning to the big-league club to take his spot. To open up room on the 40-man for Richardson, Cincinnati designated right-hander Kyle Nicolas for assignment.
Nicolas joined the organization via trade from the Pirates in March. Outfielder Tyler Callihan went to Pittsburgh in the deal. Nicolas didn’t break camp with the club, but made his team debut in early April. He was knocked around for seven earned runs over seven appearances. The righty piled up 13 walks over 7 1/3 frames.
The 27-year-old Nicolas struggled in his first outing with the Reds. He ceded three earned runs in mop-up duty and had to be relieved by a position player. Nicolas settled in for four scoreless appearances after the ugly debut. He was tagged for four earned runs in a late April outing against the Rays and was optioned back to Triple-A shortly after.
Throwing strikes has been the main issue for Nicolas. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons in the majors and has yet to post a sub-10% walk rate. The righty has an underwhelming 59.5% strike rate across 93 MLB outings. Nicolas posted a career-worst 38.4% zone rate in his brief stint with the Reds.
After two short stretches with the Reds in 2023 and 2024, Richardson was a regular in the bullpen last season. He pitched to a 4.54 ERA across 37 appearances. The Reds used Richardson in a variety of roles, including occasional late-inning appearances. He picked up three holds, but also covered more than an inning on 14 occasions.
Richardson came up as a starter, and his first four games with the Reds were starts. He struggled to an 8.64 ERA as a rookie in 2023. Richardson began transitioning to a relief role in 2024. He pitched out of the bullpen six times at Triple-A. His lone appearance with the Reds that season came as a reliever. Richardson has been almost exclusively used out of the bullpen since then.
Cincinnati added Johnson on a one-year, $6.5MM deal in January. He delivered a 3.27 ERA across 24 appearances. Johnson picked up four holds and a save. The 35-year-old was removed during an outing against the Mets on Tuesday. He allowed a hit and recorded two outs before getting pulled.
Johnson is the latest high-leverage reliever to go down for the Reds. The club lost closer Emilio Pagan to a significant hamstring strain in early May. He’s about three weeks into his initial four-to-eight week recovery timeline. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft went to the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain on Friday. He hasn’t been ruled out for the season, but he’ll be sidelined for at least a couple of months.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene of the Enquirer via Imagn Images
Reds Outright Lyon Richardson
The Reds announced that right-hander Lyon Richardson has been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last month when Cincinnati acquired outfielder Dane Myers from the Marlins.
Richardson, 26 this month, was a second-round pick of the Reds back in 2018. Cincinnati added him to the 40-man roster in November of 2022 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He spent the past three years as an up-and-down depth arm for the Reds, getting shuttled between Cincinnati and Louisville.
Over those three seasons, he tossed 55 innings in the majors, allowing 6.05 earned runs per nine. He averaged above 95 miles per hour with both his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a slider, curveball and changeup. His 51.1% ground ball rate was good but his 16.7% strikeout rate and 14.3% walk rate were both well off league average. He also tossed 199 2/3 Triple-A innings in that span with a 4.19 ERA. His 12.7% walk rate was still rough but he did punch out 26% of batters faced.
He was kept in a relief role in 2025, after mostly working as a starter in prior years. The Triple-A results were decent, as he tossed 32 innings with a 4.22 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate. It didn’t really translate to the majors, however, with a 17.4% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate in the show.
He exhausted his final option year in 2025, pushing him to the fringe of the roster. The Reds nudged him off December 27th. DFA limbo is normally capped at a week but the rules are different around the holidays, so Richardson spent close to two weeks in a liminal space but now has clarity on his situation. This is his first career outright and he does not have three years of big league service time. That means he does not have the right to elect free agency. He’ll stick with the Reds in a non-roster capacity and try to earn his way back to the big leagues.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Reds Acquire Dane Myers
The Reds are acquiring outfielder Dane Myers from the Marlins in exchange for outfield prospect Ethan O’Donnell. The Reds are designating right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment in a corresponding move, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Marlins’ 40-man roster now stands at 39, which opens a spot for the recently-signed Pete Fairbanks. The Marlins have officially announced the trade.
The 29-year-old Myers, a Ballengee Group client, was drafted by the Tigers as a pitcher in 2017. He was converted to a hitter in 2019 and spent a few more seasons in the Tigers’ system before the Marlins selected him in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He made his major-league debut with Miami in July 2023. In 511 plate appearances over 172 games from 2023-25, Myers has batted .245/.299/.354 with a 25.8% strikeout rate against a 6.5% walk rate while providing serviceable outfield defense. However, that has come with a fair amount of injuries. He missed two months with a left ankle fracture in 2024. This year, he made two separate trips to the injured list for right oblique strains and finished the year on the IL with a right knee laceration.
When he was on the field this year, Myers made 333 PA and played 752 2/3 innings across all three outfield spots, mostly in center field. He cut his strikeout rate from 33.3% in 2024 to 23.1% in 2025 while also chipping in 18 stolen bases. However, that coincided with a drop in power. His slugging percentage fell from .442 to just .326, and his ISO similarly declined from .179 to .091. Altogether, Myers batted .235/.291/.326 with six home runs and just a 72 wRC+ this year, a disappointment considering he posted a 113 wRC+ in 2024 (albeit in a limited sample).
Defensively, Myers has improved year over year. He was worth -3 Defensive Runs Saved in 155 1/3 outfield innings in 2023 but 1 DRS in 222 innings in 2024. This year, he played 752 2/3 innings in the field and was worth 3 DRS, as well as 2 Outs Above Average. His arm strength is his true calling card, grading out in the 97th percentile according to Statcast. Myers also has excellent range thanks to his 76th-percentile sprint speed.
The trade for Myers gives the Reds a low cost defensive specialist who could fill a platoon role against left-handed pitching. TJ Friedl is the incumbent in center field. He had a 109 wRC+ this year and was worth 2.9 fWAR despite being a liability in the field (-10 DRS). His offense is enough to keep him as a starter up the middle. Meanwhile, a combination of Noelvi Marte, Will Benson, Gavin Lux, and the recently-signed JJ Bleday will occupy the outfield corners. Notably, Marte is the only one of that bunch who hits right-handed. Myers had a 119 wRC+ in 117 PA against southpaws this year, so he could help balance out the lineup from the right side.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old O’Donnell was a sixth-round draft pick by the Reds in 2023. He joins the Marlins’ system after a 2025 season spent at the Double-A level. In 503 PA across 125 games for the Reds’ affiliate in Chattanooga, he had a line of .236/.327/.325 with a 90 wRC+. He struck out 25.6% of the time but showed good plate discipline with a 10.7% walk rate. O’Donnell has shown above-average speed and power in prior seasons, so he might improve with another year at Double-A.
As for Richardson, the 25-year-old was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2018. He made his big-league debut in 2023 and has compiled 55 innings with a 6.05 ERA in 39 appearances (four starts) from 2023-25. He got a somewhat bigger look this year, pitching to a 4.54 ERA in 37 2/3 innings out of the Reds’ bullpen. He got groundballs at an above-average 53.8% rate, but that was offset by a lack of strikeouts (only 17.4%) as well as a 46.2% hard-hit rate against him. Richardson has less than one year of service time but is out of options. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll need his contract to be selected in order to get another look in the majors.
Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images
Reds Designate Lyon Richardson For Assignment
The Reds have designated right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among the first to report the move, which will make room for Dane Myers on the 40-man roster. Myers was acquired from Miami via trade earlier today. It’s the second DFA of the day for Cincinnati, after Keegan Thompson met the same fate to free up a spot for free agent addition JJ Bleday.
Richardson earned his longest MLB look this past season. He made 34 appearances out of the bullpen for the Reds, pitching to a 4.54 ERA over 37 2/3 innings. Richardson posted a subpar 17.4% strikeout rate and an unsightly 12.2% walk rate. The young righty had a solid 53.8% ground ball rate, which helped him allow just two home runs despite his hitter-friendly home park.
Cincinnati selected Richardson in the second round of the 2018 draft. He routinely delivered strong strikeout numbers as he worked his way up the minor league ladder. Richardson ranked among the Reds’ top 10 prospects multiple times on MLB.com, reaching the No. 9 spot in 2021. He missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Richardson compiled a 34.5% strikeout rate across three levels in 2023. He made his big-league debut that season, but it was a disastrous first stint in the majors. Richardson was hammered for 16 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings across four starts. The beginning of his career could not have gone worse, as he allowed home runs to CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas on the first two pitches he threw in a Reds uniform.
After working almost exclusively as a starter, Richardson moved into a relief role this past season. He did not experience the typical uptick in velocity that pitchers transitioning to the bullpen often see, as his fastball dropped about 1 mph compared to 2023 and 2024. Richardson did make an arsenal tweak as a reliever, pushing his changeup usage to 40.5%. He’d used the pitch around 30% of the time in his first two MLB seasons.
The changeup resulted in a Run Value of -5, so the increased usage might not have been the best approach. Richardson also ditched his slider and focused on the curveball as his primary breaking pitch last year. Finding a pitch mix that allows him to regain his strikeout ability will be key if he’s to get another shot with the Reds.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Reds Sign Garrett Hampson To Major League Deal
The Reds announced Friday that they’ve signed veteran utilityman Garrett Hampson to a one-year, major league contract. He’ll go directly onto Cincinnati’s big league roster. In a pair of corresponding moves, outfielder Rece Hinds was optioned to Triple-A Louisville, and righty Carson Spiers was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. The Reds also announced the reinstatement of ace Hunter Greene from the injured list, as expected. Righty Lyon Richardson had been optioned to Louisville on yesterday’s off-day to clear a spot on the roster for Greene.
Hampson, 30, opened the season with the D-backs. He’d signed a minor league deal with Arizona over the winter but broke camp with the team after nice spring performance. He received only 41 plate appearances in about six weeks with the Snakes, however, turning in only a .167/.359/.167 batting line. Hampson did draw 10 walks, but he was 5-for-30 with a quintet of singles in his official at-bats and produced poor batted-ball metrics when he made contact. The Diamondbacks designated Hampson for assignment and released him last week.
The Reds are Hampson’s fifth big league team in four years. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the club that originally selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft, the Rockies, but has since bounced to Miami, Kansas City, Arizona and now Cincinnati. Hampson hasn’t been productive with the bat over the course of that journey around the big leagues, hitting just .237/.308/.323 in 750 plate appearances since Opening Day 2022. He’s a plus runner who can handle just about any position on the diamond, however, which surely enhanced his appeal to a banged-up Reds club.
Cincinnati currently has Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jeimer Candelario, Jake Fraley and Tyler Callihan all on the injured list (the 60-day IL, in Callihan’s case). Those injuries, coupled with the offseason trade of Jonathan India, have thinned out what once appeared to be an extremely deep group of infielders. Presently, the Reds have Spencer Steer at first base, Matt McLain at second, Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and utilityman Santiago Espinal at third base. Gavin Lux can play all over the diamond but has been used much more as an outfielder than an infielder this season. The Reds are also carrying three catchers at the moment, which further creates a need for some versatility in the other players they decide to carry on the bench.
Hampson will provide some needed infield depth while Marte & Co. heal up in the weeks ahead. He’ll also give the Reds a righty-swinging option to plug into an outfield mix that currently includes Lux, Austin Hays, TJ Friedl and Will Benson.
Andrew Abbott To Begin Season On Injured List
Reds manager Terry Francona provided members of the media, including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, updates on the club’s pitching plans to start the season. Left-hander Andrew Abbott will start the season on the injured list. That will allow right-hander Carson Spiers to have a rotation spot to start the year. Meanwhile, righty Graham Ashcraft will head to the bullpen. Fellow righty Lyon Richardson has been optioned to Triple-A, per a club announcement from earlier today.
Sheldon emphasizes that Abbott hasn’t experienced a setback, just that the Reds have been moving him along gradually. At the start of camp, about a month ago, Abbott relayed that he was a bit behind schedule, taking things slowly after he finished 2024 on the injured list due to a shoulder strain. He thought he still had a chance to be ready by Opening Day but Francona said the club wouldn’t rush him to just meet that specific target.
“I don’t even think about that just because I think that’s where you make mistakes, when you put an artificial deadline,” Francona said last month. “We’re going to do what’s right for every player. If somebody isn’t ready, whether it’s him or somebody else, we’ll figure out a way to make it work until they’re ready.”
That thinking still seems to be the plan. Rather than try to force Abbott to be ready for the first week of April, they will just let him be ready whenever he’s ready. Since it seems to have been sort of a borderline call, perhaps he will only miss a very short time. IL stints can be backdated by three days, even at the start of the season, meaning he could be back as soon as 12 days into the campaign.
For now, the club will proceed without Abbott. Four rotation spots will be taken by Hunter Greene, Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo and Nick Martinez. As mentioned, the fifth will go to Spiers, who posted a 5.46 earned run average in a swing role last year. For what it’s worth, his numbers have been good in camp. He’s allowed three earned runs in 10 innings, with ten punchouts and four walks.
He likely won’t have a firm grip on a rotation spot. As mentioned, Abbott could return fairly quickly. The Reds also have Richardson and Connor Phillips as healthy options on the 40-man. Rhett Lowder is another, although he was slowed by elbow soreness early in camp and has an uncertain status at the moment. Prospect Chase Petty isn’t on the roster but should be in the Triple-A rotation and pushing for a promotion this year. Spiers has options and could be pushed to Triple-A himself at some point, or perhaps to the bullpen.
As for Ashcraft, he’s generally been a passable back-end starter of the ground ball variety. In 60 starts over the past three seasons, he has a 4.91 ERA. His 16.6% strikeout rate is subpar but his 7.6% walk rate is good and he’s kept 50.2% of balls in play on the dirt.
It was reported earlier in camp that the club had some hope that Ashcraft could thrive in a bullpen role. Per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, Ashcraft said today that he’s excited about the move, hoping that his stuff plays up in shorter stints. His fastballs (four-seamer, sinker, cutter) have generally averaged in the 95-98 mile-per-hour range in his career. He hasn’t translated that into many punchouts yet but perhaps the relief role will allow him to find an extra gear.
Photo courtesy Sam Greene, Imagn Images.
Reds Activate Joey Votto, Jonathan India, Hunter Greene
The Reds announced six roster moves today, most prominently the returns of some of their biggest names. Joey Votto and Jonathan India were both activated from the 10-day injured list, while Hunter Greene was activated from the COVID-related injured list. Right-hander Lyon Richardson was optioned to Triple-A, while infielder Alejo Lopez and right-hander Carson Spiers (both on the roster as substitute players) were respectively returned to Triple-A and Double-A.
India last played on July 28, as a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot resulted in a longer absence than expected on the IL, and there was at least some concern that the second baseman might have been sidelined for the rest of the 2023 season entirely. However, the Reds’ rough planned timeline for India in mid-August ended up basically going to plan, so he’ll now look to step back into his normal duty at second base. Votto has missed a little over two weeks due to left shoulder discomfort, and given Votto’s history of shoulder problems, it counts as very good news that the longtime first baseman is already back on the field.
Cincinnati’s waiver-wire additions of Hunter Renfroe and Harrison Bader have further added to what has become a bit of glut of position players for the Reds, though injuries have essentially kept the team’s list of options from becoming a true surplus. Star rookie Matt McLain will still be out for at least another week or two in recovering from an oblique injury, and Noelvi Marte just suffered a broken nose yesterday after being hit in the face by an errant throw during pregame warmups. Manager David Bell told reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Marte isn’t yet being placed on the IL since the rookie infielder will attempt to play through the discomfort, possibly wearing a protective mask.
With Marte a question mark, the Reds’ infield figures to shake out as Votto and Christian Encarnacion-Strand sharing first base and DH duty, India at second base, Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, and Spencer Steer probably taking the bulk of third base work. If Marte is able to continue playing, Steer can split time at second base, third base, and in the corner outfield, which creates a bit of a logjam in the outfield but Steer’s playing time will certainly be prioritized given his strong numbers.
Greene is set to start today’s game against the Cardinals, with the right-hander set for his first action since August 30. Greene was hit hard in his first two outings back from a 60-day IL stint (due to hip pain) before looking much sharper in that August 30th outing against the Giants, but Greene was then sidelined again by the COVID outbreak that has hit the Reds’ clubhouse in recent days.
Reds Select Michael Mariot
The Reds announced that they have recalled right-hander Casey Legumina and selected the contract of righty Michael Mariot. In corresponding moves, righty Brett Kennedy was optioned to Triple-A while righty Lyon Richardson was returned to Triple-A. The club already had a vacancy on its 40-man roster.
Mariot, 34, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. The Reds signed him to a minor league deal in June and selected him to the big league roster in July, though he was designated for assignment a day later without getting into a game. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment at that time, which now leads to his contract being selected a second time this year.
The Reds were already dealing with a large number of injuries but a recent COVID outbreak has exacerbated the issue, sending multiple pitchers to the injured list. That has required an almost-daily roster churn as they keep cycling fresh arms into the mix, with Mariot the latest to get the call.
He made 44 appearances in the big leagues back in the 2014 to 2016 period but hasn’t been back since, bouncing around on various minor league deals while also spending time in the Mexican League and Chinese Professional Baseball in Taiwan. He began 2023 with the Cleburne Railroaders of the independent American Association of Professional Baseball, posting a 5.06 ERA there but with 29 strikeouts and just five walks in 26 2/3 innings.
That led to a minor league deal with the Reds and he has since thrown 37 2/3 innings over nine appearances for Louisville with a 6.93 ERA and 14.3% strikeout rate. The Reds are going the opener route today, with reliever Tejay Antone scheduled to start, but Mariot could perhaps log some bulk innings in the middle of the game.
As for Richardson, the fact that he has been “returned” to Triple-A and not optioned is worth noting. He was called up as a COVID replacement player recently and has now been sent back down. Optioned pitchers normally cannot be recalled for another 15 days but that won’t apply in this unique situation. He is listed as Wednesday’s starter and should be added back to the roster in short order.