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Ricky Karcher

Diamondbacks Sign Ricky Karcher To Minor League Deal

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The D-Backs have signed reliever Ricky Karcher to a minor league contract, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The Snakes also brought back Humberto Castellanos on a non-roster deal.

Karcher joins the second organization of his career. The Reds selected him in the 13th round of the 2017 draft. The 6’4″ righty moved to the bullpen full-time in 2021. He has shown the ability to miss plenty of bats in the minor leagues but also demonstrated significant control issues. In parts of six minor league seasons, he owns a 26.4% strikeout rate while walking a massive 20.4% of batters faced.

Despite the strike-throwing concerns, Cincinnati added Karcher to the 40-man roster last offseason. That kept him out of the Rule 5 draft. They called him up for the first time in early June. He pitched once, tossing a scoreless inning against the Royals. Karcher averaged just under 98 MPH with his fastball in that appearance, pointing to the power arsenal he has shown in the minors.

That wasn’t enough to hold his roster spot with the Reds. The 26-year-old had a rough season at Triple-A Louisville, where he walked almost a quarter of his opponents over 60 1/3 innings. He posted a 4.77 ERA in 51 outings there, with Cincinnati outrighting him from the 40-man around the All-Star Break. Karcher qualified for minor league free agency at season’s end.

Castellanos is a depth starter who logged 100 2/3 MLB innings with the Astros and D-Backs between 2020-22. A soft-tossing control specialist, he owns a 5.45 ERA with a modest 16.6% strikeout rate. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2022. Arizona ran him through waivers last offseason and he missed this year rehabbing. If he’s healthy next spring, he could head to Triple-A Reno as rotation or long relief insurance.

Reds Outright Henry Ramos, Ricky Karcher

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The Reds announced that both outfielder Henry Ramos and right-hander Ricky Karcher cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Louisville. Both players had been designated for assignment in the past week.

Ramos, 31, has had tremendous results at the plate in Triple-A but hasn’t yet put it together in the big leagues. He’s hit .299/.356/.481 in 400 games at the top minor league level but .223/.313/.304 in 36 major league contests. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason and got called up in late April. He hit .242/.356/.306 in 18 games before landing on the injured list due to a hip strain in late May. When he was ready to return, he was optioned to the minors before his recent DFA.

The outfielder had the right to reject this assignment by virtue of the fact that he has a previous career outright. It’s not explicit whether he’s chosen to waive that right or not, though he’s listed as active on the Louisville Bats roster, perhaps indicating he has decided to stick in the organization instead of heading back to the open market.

Karcher, 25, was just added to the 40-man roster in November, to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He got that roster spot on the heels of a strong 2022 season wherein he tossed 56 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.65 ERA, 35.1% strikeout rate and 15.9% walk rate. That control was not ideal but the strikeout stuff was intriguing enough for the Reds to not want him to get away.

2023 has been a different story, however, despite Karcher making his MLB debut with a scoreless inning. He’s spent most of the season in Triple-A with a 7.18 ERA in 31 1/3 innings at that level. His 21.7% strikeout rate is far lower than last year’s and his command issues have gotten much worse, with his walk rate spiking all the way to 26.5%. Based on those results, he lost his roster spot with the Reds and couldn’t get one with any of the other clubs either.

This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, which means he does not have the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency. He’ll stick in the organization and provide some non-roster depth while trying to better harness his stuff.

Reds Designate Ricky Karcher For Assignment

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The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Ricky Karcher for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Tony Santillan, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Righty Brett Kennedy was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to open a spot for Santillan on the active roster.

Karcher, 25, made his big league debut last month when he worked a scoreless inning out of the Cincinnati bullpen. The former 13th-round pick has struggled for the majority of the season in Triple-A Louisville, however, pitching to a dismal 7.18 ERA with more walks (44) than strikeouts (36) in 31 1/3 innings. He’s never had many problems missing bats, but command issues have plagued him throughout his career, evidenced by his 172 walks (and 225 strikeouts) in 174 1/3 total innings as a professional.

The Reds will have a week to trade Karcher or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s in the first of three minor league option seasons and can reach triple digits with his heater, in addition to a slider that grades as an above-average offering, but his location issues are an obvious red flag for other clubs.

Santillan, 26, has yet to pitch in 2023 due to a pair of injuries. Lower back issues derailed his 2022 season, and he was eventually diagnosed with a stress fracture. While still rehabbing his back earlier this season, Santillan was shut down after incurring a knee strain.

In 2021, Santillan looked like an intriguing long-term piece in the bullpen, pitching 43 1/3 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate as a rookie. The previously mentioned back issues limited him to just 19 1/3 innings last year, however, and he was hit hard during that time. While Santillan saw his velocity tick up to an average of 96.3 mph, he was also torched for a 5.49 ERA with a greatly reduced 21.9% strikeout rate and even higher 12.5% walk rate. Santillan was a starter earlier in his minor league career, and the Reds are in need of rotation help, but he’s been working in short relief during his rehab assignment and figures to once again occupy a bullpen spot moving forward.

Reds Designate Joel Kuhnel, Select Daniel Duarte

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of right-hander Daniel Duarte. To open a spot on the active roster, fellow righty Ricky Karcher was optioned to Triple-A. Righty Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man move.

Duarte, 26, first got added to the Cincinnati roster going into 2022 but he spent most of the season on the injured list due to elbow problems. He was non-tendered, re-signed to a minor league deal and has been pitching in Triple-A so far this year. He has a 3.49 ERA in 28 1/3 innings, striking out 25.4% of opponents while walking 11.1% and getting grounders at a 51.4% clip.

The Reds played a 10-inning game yesterday, using six pitchers in the process. Though they ultimately emerged victorious, the bullpen was a bit taxed so Duarte will come in and give the club a fresh arm. He still has a couple of options and just one year of major league service time, so he could potentially be retained as a cheap and optionable depth piece for the foreseeable future if he continues to hang onto his 40-man roster spot.

The casualty of bringing Duarte up to the majors is Kuhnel. The 28-year-old has bounced on and off the Reds’ roster in recent seasons, logging 74 innings of sporadic action dating back to 2019. He has a 6.20 career ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. There’s likely been a bit of bad luck in there as his 62.8% strand rate is well below average, leading to a 4.28 FIP and 3.55 SIERA. But in 24 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 7.13 ERA while striking out just 13.3% of opponents.

The Reds will now have a week to trade Kuhnel or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright. If any club were to acquire Kuhnel, he has a couple of options and just over a year of service time.

Reds Place Graham Ashcraft On Injured List

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The Reds announced that they have placed right-hander Graham Ashcraft on the 15-day injured list due to a left calf contusion. In a corresponding move, they recalled right-hander Ricky Karcher, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Ashcraft was struck by a comebacker in his start yesterday and initially stayed in the game but it seems there are some lingering effects from that. The righty made his major league debut with a 4.89 ERA last year, getting ground balls at a strong 54.5% rate. However, this year’s results haven’t been as good, with a 47.6% grounder rate and 6.78 ERA. He’ll take at least a couple of weeks to heal up his calf and try to get in better form when he returns.

The Reds may not need to replace Ashcraft as they had been recently using a six-man rotation. Even without Ashcraft, they will still have Hunter Greene, Luke Weaver, Ben Lively, Brandon Williamson and Andrew Abbott. If they are fine with using a five-man set going forward, they could roll with that group.

As for Karcher, as mentioned up top, he has yet to make his major league debut. Now 25 years old, he was a 13th-round draft selection in 2017. He initially was working primarily as a starter but has pitched exclusively in relief since the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020. He had a solid season last year, moving from Double-A to Triple-A. He tossed 56 2/3 innings between those two levels with a 3.65 ERA. His 15.9% walk rate was incredibly high, but he paired that with an excellent 35.1% strikeout rate.

At the end of that year, he was given a spot on the club’s 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Baseball America then listed him as the club’s 23rd best prospect coming into this year. Here in 2023, he’s been lit up with a 9.27 ERA, though there are reasons to believe that figure might be somewhat misleading. His .362 batting average on balls in play and 52.5% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side, leading to a 6.64 FIP. That’s still not great and is likely due to a frightening 27% walk rate, though he’s been better lately. Since May 3, he has a 2.40 ERA and 18.8% walk rate.

Reds Select Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte And Four Others, DFA Six Players

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The Reds have selected the contracts of top prospects Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte, as well as Brandon Williamson, Levi Stoudt, Lyon Richardson and Ricky Karcher. As a result, they’ve DFA’d Aristides Aquino, Jeff Hoffman, Art Warren, Derek Law, Jared Solomon and Kyle Dowdy.

De La Cruz and Marte are certainly the most notable of the prospects added. De La Cruz is Cincinnati’s top overall prospect, and ranked 14th overall by MLB.com. Still just 20, De La Cruz made it as high as Double-A in 2022. As he has for most of his young career, De La Cruz mashed there, hitting .305/.358/.553 with eight home runs in 47 games while mostly appearing at shortstop. The Reds have been aggressive in moving their top prospect through the minors, and if he continues to rake into Triple-A next year, it won’t be long before he’s donning a Reds uniform.

Marte, 21, came across in the Luis Castillo deadline blockbuster. He hit .293/.397/.443 with four home runs in 30 games at High-A, and would seem likely to start next year at Double-A. He played shortstop during the minor league season, but has been exclusively at third base in the Arizona Fall League. While Marte is a bit behind De La Cruz, Reds fans can certainly start to dream of the pair of them playing infield in the not-too-distant future.

Of the other prospects added, Brandon Williamson is the only top ten prospect in their system, per MLB.com. He’s a left hander who made 13 starts at Triple-A, pitching to a 4.39 ERA. There’s a good chance he features at some point in 2023 in the big leagues. Elsewhere, Stoudt and Karcher are both pitchers who featured at Triple-A in 2022, while neither had dominant results, there’s a chance both would have been called upon anyway as pitching depth. Richardson is a hard-throwing right hander who’s struggled with injuries of late, but even though he’s not pitched above High-A, the Reds clearly feel his arm has enough talent to avoid risking losing him in the draft.

Aquino is the most high profile of the players cut loose by the Reds. He hit a staggering 14 home runs during August in 2019 for a .320/.391/.767 line in that period, but hasn’t hit much since. In 2022, he posted a line of just .197/.246/.363 while striking out more than a third of his plate appearances. Hoffman pitched to a 3.83 ERA across 44 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Both players were arbitration eligible and non-tender candidates, so it’s not surprising to see them cut loose to open up valuable 40-man spots.

Solomon, Law, Dowdy and Warren all pitched a handful of innings each out of the Reds’ bullpen, but none had much success, and all seemed like near-certain DFA candidates as the Reds look to make room for their young prospects.

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