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Just when some thought that the Reds were starting to come around and not be the worst team in the league, they have been dealt another blow.
Coming into the season, the Cincinnati Reds were widely considered to be in the middle of a rebuild and were not expected to be good at all. Sure, Joey Votto is going to win you some games and there is some talent on the roster, but you will be hard pressed to find any non-Reds fans that thought they were going to be a .500 club this year.
However, after the Reds let manager Bryan Price go, they actually started to stitch together some decent stretches. They still have the fourth worst record in baseball, but they are 5-5 in their last ten games and haven’t looked COMPLETELY lost on the field. Unfortunately, they got some unfortunate news about their closer Raisel Iglesias today.
The #Reds have activated from the 10-day DL RHP Michael Lorenzen and RHP Tanner Rainey has been recalled from the Triple-A @LouisvilleBats. RHP Raisel Iglesias and RHP Austin Brice have been placed on the 10-day DL. pic.twitter.com/69bUv440dr
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 23, 2018
Iglesias has been solid for the Reds this season as their closer in striking out 27 batters in 21.2 innings (20 appearances) while posting a 2.08 ERA with 8 saves. Fortunately, it is his non-throwing arm that is injured, so his ability to pitch isn’t necessarily the problem. Unless there is a pretty serious injury there, his stay on the DL shouldn’t be too prolonged.
The Reds also placed Austin Brice on the DL with an upper back injury, but his absence will be less missed with his -0.3 rWAR and 4.68 ERA in 20 appearances this year. Who replaces Iglesias in high leverage situations is certainly a question mark for the Reds especially with limited options on a roster that is already struggling with depth of talent.