The Cincinnati Reds made more September call ups this afternoon. They’ve announced that they’ve called up right handed pitcher Tyler Mahle, catcher Tim Federowicz, outfielder Gabriel Guerrero (which we knew was coming), and right handed pitcher Keury Mella. Mella, though, was called up only to be placed on the 60-day disabled list. In his last start he injured his oblique for Louisville. This is simply to create a 40-man roster spot for Federowicz. The Reds must have really wanted to see what he could do, because that move is going to cost the organization roughly $160,000 in salary paid to both Mella and Federowicz the rest of the season.
For Tyler Mahle it will be interesting to see how he’s used. He seemed to hit a wall in August in the Majors and that led to his being optioned back to Louisville. While his ERA was strong, 2.73, he had 11 walks and 20 strikeouts in 29.2 innings for the Bats. Those weren’t the numbers you would have been expecting from the righty. There’s also not a rotation spot, it would seem, open right now. Does he head to the bullpen to get some innings that way? We shall see.
With Tim Federowicz it will be another trip to the Major Leagues. The 30-year-old catcher has been around. A lot. He’s seen action in the Major Leagues in parts of seven seasons – including this one with the Astros. Sometimes it’s more about luck than anything else, and that may be the case for Federowicz. The Reds picked him up when they simply didn’t have enough healthy catchers in Triple-A down the stretch. Injuries have ravaged the Bats catchers all year long. In 23 games with Louisville he hit .244/.318/.359. Between his stops in Fresno and Louisville he’s thrown out 44% of opposing base runners this season. Now, with that opportunity in Louisville that seemingly arose because injuries took their toll on others, the former Tar Heel gets back to the big leagues after taking advantage of his time with the Reds in Triple-A.
The addition of Gabriel Guerrero is, as noted above, expected. Jason Linden of Redleg Nation reported it first two days ago. The move was made official today. I wrote about what we may be able to expect from him when that was announced and rather than rehash it, I’ll just leave the link here and suggest you go read it.
These may not be the last of the September call ups. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos begin the playoffs on Wednesday. They have several players on their roster who are on the 40-man who could potentially be recalled once their playoff run ends. It’s not a guarantee that any of them will be brought up, but if they do get the call it won’t be until after the playoffs are completed.