:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31102499/20130809_jrc_sv4_047.0.jpg)
The biggest -- and most amazing -- news to come out of the Reds bullpen over the last couple of days was about Aroldis Chapman's health. He said he felt "almost normal," which is amazing considering the fact that he took that gory picture of his scalp stapled together less than two weeks ago.
In the mean time, the Reds have decided to use Jonathan Broxton as their closer, according to manager Bryan Price (via the Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay).
Broxton is currently on the disabled list after undergoing surgery on his forearm this offseason.
Cincinnati is currently using a closer-by-committee contingent for save situations with J.J. Hoover functioning as the closest thing to a go-to guy in the pen.
Broxton is expected to return and immediately usurp the ninth, a role he has held before with the Dodgers and the Royals. He followed up an excellent 2012 campaign with a disappointing run last season. After posting a 2.82 ERA two years ago, the 29-year-old stumbled to a 4.11 ERA in 2013 and finished the year without a single save for the first time since his rookie year in 2005 -- if that matters to you.
Chapman is expected to return sometime in May, so Broxton could hold down the job for a full month or more. Of course, if he struggles with the manometric pressure of the ninth -- as he has before -- the Reds could go back to a committee until Chapman comes back.