The Cincinnati Reds have lost reliever Heath Hembree on waivers to the New York Mets. Hembree was designated for assignment on Tuesday, following his performance against the Chicago Cubs in which he allowed five earned runs while recording just two outs in the 8th inning of a 14-5 win.
Heath Hembree got out to a strong start with the Reds in 2021. From April 23rd through May 15th he allowed just one hit and two walks without giving up an earned run in 9.2 innings while striking out 11. But over the next month he ran into big time struggles, allowing 15 earned runs in the next 14 games that covered 13.0 innings while allowing eight home runs.
Then just like that, he went back to being dominant for the next month. He pitched in 13 games and allowed just two runs in 12.2 innings without allowing a homer. Then the wheels fell off again, beginning on July 26th when he allowed 13 runs in nine appearances that covered just 7.0 innings.
The epitome of inconsistency, as it was. When he was on, he was really on. But when he was off, he was REALLY OFF.
Joey Votto’s true inspiration for his turn around
You may remember the game earlier this year in San Diego when Joey Votto was ejected from a game and a young girl in the crowd, who happened to be a huge Joey Votto fan, was shown crying and very upset about the fact that her favorite plate would no longer be in the game. That little girl was named Abigail, and all’s well that ends well. Votto, being the awesome guy that he is, made sure he spoke with her and her family.
John Ford seemed to look at this dividing line as a “turning point” in the season for Joey Votto, and well, the evidence is strong.
Joey Votto before the Abigail game:
.234/.327/.441 105 wRC+
Joey Votto since the Abigail game:
.316/.407/.674 177wRC+ https://t.co/jADVHxeCus— John Ford (@kingofchapter1) August 20, 2021
I believe Joey spoke about the soul-searching, as it were, that he did after the “Abigail game”, and how he wanted to be a better influence. So i also agree with John Ford and the stats!
It’s been a really fun thing to watch
Good for HH.He closed some close games for us when we had nobody.I wish him the best.
Best of luck to HH with the Mets!
No sign of Barrero in tonight’s lineup either. This is so frustrating.
I actually expect that HH will not be with Reds anymore in 2021 after He was DFA’d. He could help any team specially getting faith in himself more solid. I think the Reds BP is better now having Santillán as HH replacement. Will Doolittle be next ?
Good move by the Mets front office. You can get up and go get a beer in the middle of an at-bat and only miss two pitches.
Ha! Good one.
Obviously are front office is not as inept as everyone presents other teams continue to pick up are dfa’s. Agree Santillan will be better just think talent pool is shallower than people realize
HH to the Mets is terrific news, never to give away another Reds game. Probably not good for the Mets playoff hopes either. BTW Doug, in the JV section, looks like a typo, “plate” vs. “player”?
Great pickup, Doug. What a moment. The Abigail turnaround! Hope this is brought to her attention (correct “plate” for “player” while still early in the reading).
HH lost his confidence. A pitcher has to believe he’s the baddest thing around…even if he just gave up back to back jacks. You could see him lose it.
No way Hembree would’ve taken a AAA assignment. He was gone one way or another, right?
Maybe they saved enough money by this to DFA Doolittle?
Ha Ha, that’s a good one, you said lost.