Cincinnati Reds Bullpen 2023

[Ron Madden]

Watch the insane movement on this pitch

The Reds Eduardo Salazar, Ridiculous 92mph Sinker...with 22" of Run

Watch This:
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/st...92760802234371



Charlie Goldsmith
@CharlieG__
·
1h

Eduardo Salazar on his sinker:
“Since last year, I’ve been working on a sinker that’s been going well off my slider… It was Rob Wooten in Double-A that showed me and taught me the pitch. From then on out, I gained so much confidence in that pitch. Now, I call it my pitch.”

[RED VAN HOT]

Wow! When I saw that pitch in real time, I wondered why the batter swung at it. It's clear from the twitter replay that the pitch started over the plate and moved. It's easy to see why it works off his slider. The pitches break in opposite directions.

[redsfan9988]

Just came here to eat some delicious crow. If you’d told me in March that Tejay Antone and Tony Santillan would have zero games pitched and the bullpen was the primary strength of the 2023 Reds, I’d have tried to get you banned for trolling.

I am pleasantly surprised.

Go Reds!

[Bourgeois Zee]

Watch the insane movement on this pitch

That doesn't look as much like a sinker as it does a screwball.

Since hitters see so few of them, it's a phenomenal weapon to have-- especially if he can control it decently well. LH often don't have anything all that hard that breaks away from them, nor to RH have much that breaks into their hands. Having that weapon could be a game-changer.

[goreds2]

Ever since Lance McAlister (700 WLW) had his rant of the Reds bullpen about 4 weeks ago they have been great.

Need him to rant now about the team NOT going after starting pitching by the trade deadline.

[Ron Madden]

Credit to the Reds' bullpen duo of rookies Eduardo Salazar and Kevin Herget, which kept Cincinnati in the game with five scoreless innings to enable a near comeback victory. The lineup scored two runs in the ninth inning to make it a two-run game before Kevin Newman and Matt McLain both struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.

https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/graham...oss-to-brewers

[Kingspoint]

Royals Exploring Varying Trade Scenarios Involving Aroldis Chapman

By Anthony Franco | June 7, 2023 at 11:16pm CDT

Few players are more obvious trade candidates than Aroldis Chapman. The star reliever is on a one-year contract for a Royals club that dropped to 18-44 after being swept by the Marlins this week. Barring injury, it’s a virtual lock Chapman won’t finish the season in Kansas City.

Clubs were expressing trade interest in the resurgent southpaw as early as the second week of May. Now that the calendar has flipped to June, a deal figures to come together at some point within the next seven weeks. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that K.C. is open to a few different possibilities in a potential trade. According to Rosenthal, the Royals are letting interested teams know they’re willing to move Chapman early in trade season if another club meets a higher ask on the prospect return. That’s an understandable tack considering the Royals’ playoff hopes have already evaporated, even in an AL Central that doesn’t have a single club with a winning record. An openness to dealing Chapman in June a) reduces the odds of an intervening injury that torpedoes the Royals’ ability to get a deal done and b) ostensibly makes him a more appealing target for other teams. Getting three-plus months of Chapman’s services as opposed to just two months after the deadline would be an added boost for a contender.

That’s not to say a deal will actually come together imminently. Even teams that are locks to sell tend to wait to move their most notable trade candidates until the deadline is nigh. The Royals know the direction they’ll take, but many other clubs toward the middle of the standings don’t have that kind of clarity. They might not be eager to jump into the market for a rental reliever right now but could be viable suitors closer to the deadline. Kansas City has made some early seller trades in past summers — they dealt Carlos Santana to the Mariners in late June last season and reportedly began shopping Andrew Benintendi around the same time, for instance — but they’ll have to be quite impressed with another club’s offer to move Chapman soon. The seven-time All-Star can veto any trade until June 15, an automatic CBA right afforded to all major league free agents who sign an MLB deal the preceding offseason.

Rosenthal also writes that K.C. has expressed an openness to including Chapman in a package deal with other players from the major league roster. The most straightforward candidate for such a move would be closer Scott Barlow, who’s perhaps the organization’s most valuable plausible trade chip. Barlow posted a sub-2.50 ERA over 70+ innings in both 2021 and ’22. He’s carrying a 3.52 mark through 23 frames this year but striking out a personal-high 35.1% of opposing hitters. Barlow is making $5.3MM this season and controllable via arbitration for one more year. That extra control year affords K.C. more flexibility to hold onto Barlow than they have with Chapman. The latter signed a one-year, $3.75MM guarantee. He’s trending towards unlocking an additional $2.5MM in appearance incentives but a price tag a little north of $6MM is still eminently reasonable given his return to form.

Chapman carries a 2.95 ERA over 21 1/3 frames. His 38.5% strikeout percentage ranks sixth among relievers with 20+ innings. He’s in the top 15 in missing bats on a pitch-for-pitch basis. Chapman’s average fastball velocity is back above 99 MPH after dipping to the 97 MPH range during his final season with the Yankees. He’s doling out plenty of free passes (15.4% walk rate) but holding opponents to a .197/.319/.237 overall slash thanks to the whiffs and a complete lack of hard contact. As is the case every summer, contending clubs will be active in ways to upgrade their bullpens. The Nationals and Tigers are reportedly getting calls on some of their relief arms, while K.C. general manager J.J. Picollo will find no shortage of interest in Chapman and Barlow. Keynan Middleton, Reynaldo López, Brad Hand, Mark Leiter Jr. and Chris Stratton are among the other relievers who might be available this summer.

[mth123]

My guess is KC will be expecting a big time prospect to deal Chapman. If I could get him for a package of, say, Senzel, Blake Dunn and Levi Stoudt, I'd do it. If they want one of the top guys like EDLC, CES, Marte, Abbott etc. I'd just say no.

[Bourgeois Zee]

My guess is KC will be expecting a big time prospect to deal Chapman. If I could get him for a package of, say, Senzel, Blake Dunn and Levi Stoudt, I'd do it. If they want one of the top guys like EDLC, CES, Marte, Abbott etc. I'd just say no.

No way is KC asking for that much. They'd get laughed off the phone. They're almost assuredly asking for someone in the second echelon of Red prospects-- Arroyo, Acuna, Petty, Jorge, Rodriguez, maybe Phillips.

And Krall and company are likely offering someone from below that: Aguiar, Farr, Parks, Roa, Boyle, Stoudt.

I could see Victor Acosta and Joe Boyle for Chapman make sense for both sides.

[Kc61]

I’d be amazed if Reds, under this ownership, ever re-acquired Chapman.

More generally, I don’t see the Reds trading good young assets quite this soon.

And thats’s what KC would want.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I’d be amazed if Reds, under this ownership, ever re-acquired Chapman.

They should have done it this offseason.

Still chaffed at that.

[JCM11]

No way is KC asking for that much. They'd get laughed off the phone. They're almost assuredly asking for someone in the second echelon of Red prospects-- Arroyo, Acuna, Petty, Jorge, Rodriguez, maybe Phillips.

And Krall and company are likely offering someone from below that: Aguiar, Farr, Parks, Roa, Boyle, Stoudt.

I could see Victor Acosta and Joe Boyle for Chapman make sense for both sides.

If the Reds are going to be giving up prospects of real value they need to be getting back a SP. For a Chapman rental I might offer a TJ Hopkins or Ruben Ibarra type. No way would I trade Boyle for a Chapman rental on a sub.500 team. They need SP more than BP help right now.

Boyle and a good lower level guy for Giolito could make some sense if they are withing striking distance of the division. Then they could try to get a decent RP for a Senzel or Hopkins. Pitching will likely be over priced from now until the deadline so they need to be careful with what they're giving up.

[mth123]

No way is KC asking for that much. They'd get laughed off the phone. They're almost assuredly asking for someone in the second echelon of Red prospects-- Arroyo, Acuna, Petty, Jorge, Rodriguez, maybe Phillips.

And Krall and company are likely offering someone from below that: Aguiar, Farr, Parks, Roa, Boyle, Stoudt.

I could see Victor Acosta and Joe Boyle for Chapman make sense for both sides.

I wouldn't trade any of that second echelon for Chapman. If I could center a deal around Senzel and Stoudt, I'd do it in a second. Senzel is a short timer who will be more expensive. Stoudt gives me Sal Romano vibes. I don't think I'd include Boyle or Aguiar in a Chapman deal either. I'd give them all three of Stoudt, Roa, and Farr if they want.

A lot of teams will be looking for bullpen help. Most teams need help and most teams still are in the hunt. My guess is somebody who is less dependent on the pipeline will overpay for Chapman making it difficult for the Reds to compete with their package.

[backbencher]

I’d be amazed if Reds, under this ownership, ever re-acquired Chapman.

More generally, I don’t see the Reds trading good young assets quite this soon.

And thats’s what KC would want.

Agree with all of this.

Chapman a fitting talent but unlikely target for the Reds.

And too soon for the Reds to start playing with any big chips. They've got the potential for a multi-year run, but that run is going to need fuel to keep it going. Don't burn anything significant at the starting gate.

[goreds2]

Today, 6 1/3 innings and 3 earned runs.