Reds call up Joel Kuhnel from Prasco Park

The Cincinnati Reds have called up right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel from the alternate roster at Prasco Park between games one and two of their double header on Saturday evening against the Chicago Cubs. He’s taking the place on the roster of left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder injury.

Joel Kuhnel has only appeared in one game this season for the Cincinnati Reds. On August 9th he pitched against Milwaukee, in Milwaukee, and the Brewers got to him for two solo home runs in an inning of work that featured a strikeout. Last season with the Reds he posted a 4.66 ERA in 9.2 innings over 11 games with five walks and nine strikeouts. The rest of his time was spent in Double-A and Triple-A where he posted a 2.18 ERA in 53.2 innings with 16 walks and 50 strikeouts.

For Jesse Biddle, his stay on the active roster didn’t last long. The 28-year-old made his first appearance of the season on August 27th in Milwaukee. He came into the game with a runner on, but kept that runner from scoring in 0.2 shutout innings that includded a hit, walk, and a strikeout. In that outing he hit 97.39 MPH with a fastball, which is the second hardest he’s ever thrown in the Major Leagues. The timing of the move was strange, coming between games of a double header, but perhaps that is just the time that they got the results back from a visit with the doctor.

Here’s the updated Prasco Park roster: