A day after it seemed that the Cincinnati Reds had handed a rotation spot to Jason Marquis, it seems that perhaps that report was incorrect given that Bryan Price said this on Thursday afternoon:
As a bullpen, maybe not having (Sean) Marshall ready for the season, not having Broxton as our eighth-inning guy, we’ll certainly have to evolve into roles. That’s if Lorenzen doesn’t make the team as a starter, then he’d have to be in the bullpen.
It would seem that Michael Lorenzen has a spot locked up on the team, but his role has yet to be determined. It’s very good to hear that Lorenzen is still in the running for a spot in the rotation. He’s got one of the better arms in the organization, so it’s understandable to want to put him in the bullpen where he would likely find immediate success. Having him in the rotation early in the season and controlling his innings later in the year with a transition to the bullpen could also be a plan to look into.
Lorenzen doesn’t have an time in Triple-A to speak of, topping out in Double-A last season. Triple-A is more of a finishing school of sorts. Some guys need it more than others do. The Reds have seemingly decided that the right hander is ready for the big leagues right now. He’s got four pitches and at least two above-average offerings with his fastball and slider. If they were concerned he couldn’t throw enough strikes he wouldn’t be considered for the bullpen, but he is being considered there. With all of that, there’s a strong argument to just put him in the rotation for now and see what happens. You can always move him to the bullpen or to Triple-A as a starter later if it’s needed, but it will be awful tough to move him into the rotation later on if you put him into the bullpen to start. He would need to go down to the minors to build up innings if he spent even a few weeks in the bullpen to start the year, much less if he were there for a longer period of time.
As I wrote yesterday, the Cincinnati Reds are going to need things to go right for them to compete in 2015. With Jason Marquis there just isn’t enough upside. Michael Lorenzen provides the kind of upside where if things do go right, he could be a difference maker in the rotation. The same applies for Raisel Iglesias. The team needs to take chances and hope for the best. The news that Lorenzen is still in the running for a spot in the rotation is them considering taking a chance. That’s a good thing for Reds fans to hear, especially a day after it seemed they were going in the opposite direction.