The Cincinnati Reds made four roster moves this afternoon prior to the start of the series against the Seattle Mariners. Right-handed pitchers Casey Legumina and Michael Mariot have been called up from Triple-A Louisville. Right-handed pitchers Lyon Richardson and Brett Kennedy have both been optioned back to Triple-A Louisville.
After yesterday’s game that saw Brett Kennedy have to enter the game in relief, it left the Reds without a starting pitcher available for the first game of the Mariners series. The club is going to be going with a bullpen day as Tejay Antone is set to start as the team’s opener. With Kennedy pitching on Sunday and Richardson not available to pitch today they both head back to re-join the Louisville Bats in the minor leagues.
Cincinnati is adding some fresh arms in Casey Legumina and Michael Mariot. Legumina has been relieving all year when healthy, but Mariot has been starting in the minor leagues this season for Louisville.
This is the second time this year that the Reds have called Michael Mariot up to the big leagues. The team brought him up on July 8th, but he didn’t pitch that day. The next day he was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and accepted his outright to the minor leagues. Now he’s back in Cincinnati. Mariot has not pitched in a game in the big leagues since October 2nd of 2016 when he recorded one out for the Philadelphia Phillies. He began the year pitching in the independent American Association for Cleburne. He made five starts for them before signing a minor league deal with the Reds in June.
In his nine games – eight of which have been starts – he’s posted a 6.93 ERA for the Bats. Mariot’s given up 44 hits with nine home runs, walked 14 batters, and he’s struck out 24 in his 37.2 innings pitched.
Casey Legumina made his big league debut earlier this season with the Reds. He’s pitched in 10 games with Cincinnati, walking eight batters with 11 strikeouts and a 6.17 ERA in 11.2 innings. In Triple-A this season he’s thrown 23.1 innings with 25 strikeouts and seven walks, posting a 5.01 ERA in the process.
Since returning from the injured list in June (he also missed most of July with another injury), Lecumina hasn’t thrown more than 1.2 innings. Mariot, though, could potentially cover multiple innings if needed to.
To note that Lyon Richardson was not optioned back to Triple-A, but he was “returned” to Triple-A. That designation is important. Richardson was called up as a “replacement” player for someone going on the COVID-19 injury list. Because of that, no option is used for this sort of transaction and he is able to return to the big leagues without having to wait 15 days like a pitcher who was optioned would (unless returning to replace an injured player). Richardson had been listed as the probable starting pitcher for Wednesday, though the game notes now list TBD – though that may be a formal thing since he is not on the roster.
So will Richardson be called back up to pitch Wednesday? As I thought that was the original plan?
From mlbtraderumors.com, “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.”
Thanks,
Unless rules have changed I think he has to be down for 10 days before he is recalled unless someone new goes on the IL. So I imagine Mariot starts.
Charlie Goldsmith noted that Richardson can return whenever because he was “returned” instead of optioned. BK has it correct (from MLBTR)
P.S. IL rule for pitchers is 15 days; it’s 10 days for position players.
It is noteworthy that Louisville wins any games when almost any pitcher who can throw an inning is called up and guys who are worn out are sent back down. Someone is doing a heck of a job just getting pitchers to the mound for 9 innings a day in Louisville.
The Louisville coaching staff seems to be much more competent than the Reds’ coaching staff.
The Coaching staff that has their minor league team in 6th place overall for the. Season or the one who is tied for a wild card spot?
Pitching is going to interesting for the remainder of the season. Maybe Phillips, in particular, will rise to the occasion. At this point, it’s about next season, not the remainder of this season. Krall gave up this season around the trade deadline. And it shows.
I see many complaints that Krall did not make any important trades at the deadline. We don’t know what deals he turned down… what players were offered and what he would have to give in return.
True but they didn’t go after affordable FAs during the off season either. A couple of years ago when they dumped Castillo, Gray, and Mahle, their pitching depth was all the rage. That hasn’t worked out. Lodolo can’t stay healthy. Greene has a tremendous ceiling but seems stuck on the floor, etc. This off season will tell the tale. I’m not expecting much. After all, as I’ve said for years, if the Reds were serious about competing, Bell wouldn’t have a job.
@LDS: Please define affordable. After you do, I’ll go have a look at last year‘s free agent starting pitchers and we will see what was out there. I’ve done this before and posted it here, there was just pure junk available. Nothing you’d want to have on this pitching staff. Unless Bob is willing to part with greater than $10 million a year, there was absolutely zero that I think we would want to have. Some of you guys need to start backing up your arguments with facts. It would be refreshing.
Affordable to me was anything under $20m. The Reds’ payroll was trivial by baseball standards. There were options available, not only pitchers but position players as well. For instance, I thought they should have gone after Bellinger. They didn’t. And so on. I don’t really expect this year to be much different.
It is simplistic and easy to define the unknowable as you want it to be known. It’s utterly ridiculous. You cannot get one of these guys to point out a pitcher they would’ve picked up at the trade deadline. Not one. We have some greatest general managers here at this site, it’s just unfortunate that none of them are running the Reds.
@LDS: this reply is laughable. Totally unrealistic that you would believe that the Reds owners would ever spend $20 million a year for starting pitcher. OK, take another crack at it, and this time be reasonable. Try to imagine you’re in Nick Krall‘s shoes and have to work around a beggars budget.
If I were in Krall’s shoes and was really hamstrung by the owners, I’d quit. That’s called integrity. I realize integrity is rare in the modern world but it didn’t used to be. If that’s really the constraints that Krall is working under, then his credibility is suspect at best. As for “ridiculous”, nope. It is incumbent on the ownership to field a competitive team just as it is incumbent on a public company to produce products that consumers want. And before you point to the Reds being competitive this year, remember they are in the weakest division in baseball and can’t get out of 3rd place. And don’t play the injury card, that’s not the problem. It’s a pattern that plays out year after year.
LDS, I’m shocked that your integrity would even allow you to be a fan of such poorly run team. Honest question: why do you even waste your time with this team?
I wonder that sometimes myself @Pete. Call it 60+ years of habit and an expectation that people still give a rat’s rear end about winning. Alas, societal malaise, I guess. All that matters is going through the motions.
Citing Bellinger as someone the Reds should have acquired at the deadline doesn’t make sense. He wasn’t traded. It is implausible that the surging Cubs made him available.
Not at deadline, last offseason
LDS…Teams that are rebuilding don’t add 20 million dollar contracts. You start adding once you have a core to build around.
You would have spent big bucks on Belli and his .210/265/.389?
He got 17.5 million. for that line.
> 40 mil off the books this fall and a good core of young players emerging at the major league level make this the winter to spend 20 or even 25 a year for 3 years on a quality starting pitcher or quality bat for the outfield. Add another 15 mil for 2 or 3 years to upgrade the bullpen. Not last winter.
I would not hesitate to use the additional carrot of optouts to sweeten the deal.
In my opinion this winter is make or break for the organization. Spend or lose most of us who still believe in them.
Two pitchers with an ERA above 6.10 don’t bring much hopes. This series would be play with one of the weakest roster of the season, plagued by injuries and illness…
I just wonder if the Reds signed guys like Wacha Moore or Hand All of whom were available for a long time. Everyone RLN knew after last year our pitching was precarious. Guess the FO thought the OF was a bigger need. But it’s September and we are still in the hunt with our best hitter on the IL. Hopefully this season will be a learning experience for both management and our promising young player
Clearly we should have kept Luke Weaver.
The lack of a big money payroll and Krall’s acceptance of it is called answering the challenge, which a 71 and 68 record confirms the job he has done. All of their starting 5 from opening day are gone, IL or released. Dunn, Overton, Gutierrez and San Martin all had surgery this year. Votto, India, Fraley, Friedl had time on the DL. Stephenson has been inconsistent to be kind. They have been putting lineups with 5 rookies on the field and yet the are still in the conversation.
If you were given all of this information on March 29th, how many wins would you have predicted for this season? I don’t question Krall’s integrity I have high regard for his ability to keep coming up with workarounds that keep them in the hunt and inside budget. That’s called overcoming adversity.
Overcoming adversity the quest of all mlb teams
astonishing that somebody above suggested if the general manager had any scruples, he would resign over working for the reds cheapskate owners. leave the job of a lifetime? a job so many would kill for? resign from it, rather than simply, well, try to do it the best you can within the given constraints? nope, better to quit, and figure out later how to explain to your flabbergasted family that someone on a website thought if you did, it would show you had integrity.
He also would have given a guy with 210/265/.389 over 17.5 million.
@LDS, make them do the research! The young folks need to learn for themselves. Most of them just complain about us older Reds fans because they think its laughable to have an opinion different then them. We don’t know what Krall was offered or what the asking price was, but we do know he signed Mr.Bell for another 3 years. lol!
You guys find something to complain about everyday. Great win today against a first place team that is the hottest in baseball. plus they are currently in place for a wildcard playoff spot. Let’s be happy for a change.
Problem is that they don’t find something DIFFERENT to complain about every day.. if it weren’t for Baltimore, Bell would be named manager of the year. He still could be, given that Baltimore is about 3-4 years into a rebuild while Bell is doing his job with players who were likely not even considered to be part of the rebuild, and the rest of them were not expected to be in MLB this year. It’s a remarkable job, except to haters who have never had to make a decision at the professional baseball level, and then live with the results of that decision.
They give out manager of the year for both leagues. If we make the playoffs, Bell is the likely winner. Snitker and Counsell are his only realistic competition.
I am a older male who got Ted Klusewski’s autograph as a teenager. individuals of all ages enjoy complaining on social media 65-35 per one quasi research I read.
If one was a Mets or a Padre fan I wonder what they would be arguing about if not spending enough money was an argument not in the conversation.
this is a fun year to observe