In the middle of the season in 2022, David Bell broke from his typical managing style and named Hunter Strickland the closer.
Bell prefers to rotate a mix of pitchers through high leverage situations, but he felt like Strickland had the mentality to get the final outs. The issue was that when Strickland pitched in those big moments, he didn’t have the pitches he needed to close out the games.
The Reds counted on him to lead an inexperienced bullpen that was cobbled together with waiver claims and minor league free agents. Strickland, 34, posted a 4.91 ERA in 66 games last season, and he knew his season wasn’t good enough.
“The hitters told me,” Strickland said. “Last year wasn’t a great performance, personally or collectively as a group. It’s a game of adjustments. And it was time that I made one.”
Strickland is back in Reds spring training, this time on a minor league deal. He’s one of 11 relief pitchers in camp competing for eight spots in the Reds bullpen. He’s counting on a new splitter to better prepare him for his 10th MLB season.
Strickland had always relied on his fastball-slider combo. He never threw a ton of strikeouts, but Strickland was a solid middle reliever with a 3.18 ERA between 2015 and 2021.
Then last season, Strickland had the worst year of his career. During a 100 loss season for a Reds team that desperately needed some consistency, Strickland had seven saves and blew six.
When he hit free agency at the end of the season, Strickland wanted a second chance in Cincinnati.
“On a personal level, with my performance last year, I feel like I have unfinished business here,” Strickland said. “The relationships that were created here are real and genuine and I wanted to see those through. My heartstrings feel like I needed to come back here and finish what we started on a better note.”
Strickland’s spring training hasn’t helped him pick up much momentum. Entering Wednesday’s game, Strickland has allowed six runs and three home runs in seven innings. He’s currently competing with Derek Law, Joel Kuhnel, Alex Young and others for one of the final spots in the Reds bullpen.
Reds manager David Bell has said that he values Strickland’s experience, durability and availability. Heading into the final week of spring training, Strickland is hoping that those strengths help him lock down a roster spot.
“My (spring) numbers speak for themselves and don’t dictate how I feel personally,” Strickland said. “I’m feeling a lot of improvement with my offspeed pitches and how I’m using them. Over the course of the season, those numbers will even out and prove that what I’m doing is in the right direction.”