When spring training rolled around this season it came as a surprise to just about everyone, including Tony Cingrani, that the Cincinnati Reds weren’t considering him for a spot in the starting rotation. The move to the bullpen for the left hander didn’t seem to sit well with him when he first heard the news.
The 25-year-old has pitched in 24 games out of the Reds bullpen this year, posting a 3.47 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched. That has also come along with 17 walks, an extremely high rate and something he’s never struggled with at anywhere close to a similar rate throughout his career. He last pitched with the Reds on June 13th and missed nearly three weeks before heading out on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
On June 2nd he made a relief appearance for the Bats, throwing two hitless innings with a walk and three strikeouts. He threw 35 pitches in the game. The next time he took the mound for Louisville he started the game and threw three shutout innings with a walk and four strikeouts. He threw 48 pitches. I happened to be at that game and after his outing I asked him if the Reds plans were to put him back in the bullpen or if he was being stretched out to possibly start. After all, 48 pitches for a reliever on rehab isn’t something you are going to see. His response was simply “That’s something you’ve got to ask them, I don’t know what they want you to know”, and really that answer probably tells us all that we need to know. Couple it with that he threw four innings in his next rehab appearance and 64 pitches the last time out and the picture gets a lot clearer.
Cingrani is scheduled to start again in Louisville on Friday night. He has been gearing up, throwing more pitches each time out. The Reds plan seems to be clear, even if they aren’t telling us about it just yet. When the Reds eventually make a trade in the next two weeks of a starting pitcher or two, Tony Cingrani is in their plans to take over a spot in the rotation.
With the combination of injuries and eventual trades, the team needs someone to throw innings moving forward the rest of the season. Cingrani is another guy who will step up and try to fill that role when it opens up. He will need to cut back on the walks that he’s struggled with in 2015 if he wants to be successful as a starter, but if he can return to the guy he was prior to the season the left hander should be able to hold down a spot through the end of the year.