Quote Originally Posted by puca View Post
As M2 pointed out, it is more an issue with not being able to get any of the young starters to stick. When thrown against the wall, too many of the Reds young pitchers bounced. The Rockies led the league in starts by rookie pitchers in 2017, they are way down that list in 2018 and hovering around .500. The Reds rebuild has been a disaster especially from a pitching perspective, and it has less to do with not adding veteran pitchers than it has to do with not developing the arms they had. Perhaps adding veterans would have allowed them to be more patient with the young pitchers, but I'm not convinced that any amount of time would have been sufficient. I just think they don't have a clue how to develop a young starting pitcher.
That's a fair point, given the evidence up to now. I still would like to have seen that approach, rather than the "see what sticks" method the Reds have employed to this point. I've been saying for 3 seasons now that the Reds needed two reliable starters, meaning guys who were established and who weren't coming off injuries, in part because they have such a tough time developing starters. The Reds, not having obtained pitchers like that, have gotten this team into a bad mess. The only solution at this point is scrap heap (Harvey is the latest) or trading players doing well like Gennett or prospects like Senzel and Trammell to obtain the starting pitching that can stabiliize this staff.