I'd make Roster move with Duke

[mth123]

I hope the Reds will not do this. Rookie starters need to be pretty special to succeed. We saw the Reds try and fail with guys like Stephenson, Reed, Romano.

Someone with Sims’ career numbers is probably better off beginning in the Reds’ bullpen. Then, see how he does, with starting on the table for the longer view.

You can experiment with rookie starters if you’re rebuilding. But if the goal is to win, I would go with surer bets in the 2020 rotation, including mostly veterans, and begin Sims in the pen.

The Reds needs somebody ready to go in case of an injury. Sims is the guy IMO. The others are all kind of terrible. Ideally we'd have a trade for a good reliever, but if we're just going to go with unproven filler, I'd rather keep the best stretched out starter in AAA available in case of an injury. The only reliever down there doing really well is Anthony Bass. I'd give him a look and see if he surprises. When Senzel comes up, I'm still hoping they can deal Schebler for Bullpen help.

[JaxRed]

Reds are not dealing anyone for bullpen help. They don't have a bullpen problem. They have one guy Duke, not getting the job done. And they have another lefty in Krol (ERA 2.70), who can fill in that spot at a moment's notice. And a righty in Bass (0.92 ERA).

So don't trade, don't bring up Sims. And in fact....as I stated in OP... probably need a hitter worse.

[Kc61]

The Reds needs somebody ready to go in case of an injury. Sims is the guy IMO. The others are all kind of terrible. Ideally we'd have a trade for a good reliever, but if we're just going to go with unproven filler, I'd rather keep the best stretched out starter in AAA available in case of an injury. The only reliever down there doing really well is Anthony Bass. I'd give him a look and see if he surprises. When Senzel comes up, I'm still hoping they can deal Schebler for Bullpen help.

Once Wood comes back Tyler Mahle is the depth starter. My guess is Sims is also depth this year, starting or bullpen, depending on need. Fine, no problem.

But that’s emergency.

In terms of planning for vacant rotation spots next year, reliance on rookies is a step backward unless somebody distinguishes himself as a top prospect fully ready.

If the goal is to win, Reds must end this pattern of using regular season baseball as a tryout camp for starting pitchers, again except for truly excellent, special candidates.

[Kc61]

In terms of Zach Duke, he’s getting $2 million, I doubt Reds will DFA him in the near future.

This is an area, though, where Reds should look for opportunities. Including in the July trading period.

Reds could use some younger, dynamic relievers going forward and will have vacancies next year. So if someone controllable becomes available, they need to willing to make a move.

[The Operator]

In terms of Zach Duke, he’s getting $2 million, I doubt Reds will DFA him in the near future.

Wow, I must have missed that transaction. I assumed he was our annual minor league invitee who broke camp with the team despite being awful.

What a waste of resources.

[WVRedsFan]

She plays the game the right way.

She's also dead, so there's that.

[OGB]

Once Wood comes back Tyler Mahle is the depth starter. My guess is Sims is also depth this year, starting or bullpen, depending on need. Fine, no problem.

But that’s emergency.

In terms of planning for vacant rotation spots next year, reliance on rookies is a step backward unless somebody distinguishes himself as a top prospect fully ready.

If the goal is to win, Reds must end this pattern of using regular season baseball as a tryout camp for starting pitchers, again except for truly excellent, special candidates.

If Mahle is outpitching Disco, do you think they keep Tony in the rotation?

[RiverRat13]

This would be solved if Servo would start his patented kiss-of-death thread - "Zach Duke Needs to Go"

[The Operator]

This would be solved if Servo would start his patented kiss-of-death thread - "Zach Duke Needs to Go"

So you want Duke around until 18 games in next year?

[adkindo]

I thought the game was called....checked one last time on ESPN and saw we were playing in the 8th inning with Iglesias already on the mound, and the 3-0 lead had been cut to 3-2! I did not even have to look to know we likely were "DUKED". It is getting to the point of being managerial malpractice to send Duke to the mound. It reminds me of us continuing to send Homer Bailey out to start games last year when it was clear it was basically going to turn into batting practice for the other team. I am ready to say Duke had a solid MLB career, but he is washed, and it should be over.

[kaldaniels]

This would be solved if Servo would start his patented kiss-of-death thread - "Zach Duke Needs to Go"

Can we settle for a Ron Gant started “Why is Zach Duke Bad at Baseball?”

[mth123]

Reds are not dealing anyone for bullpen help. They don't have a bullpen problem. They have one guy Duke, not getting the job done. And they have another lefty in Krol (ERA 2.70), who can fill in that spot at a moment's notice. And a righty in Bass (0.92 ERA).

So don't trade, don't bring up Sims. And in fact....as I stated in OP... probably need a hitter worse.

I think the goal should be for Michael Lorenzen to be the worst pitcher on the staff. As long as they have guys you'd rate worse than him, they need to upgrade. Garrett, Stephensn and Peralta are all doing well, but I refuse to make them plan A on less than 10 innings each. It's possible that when the dust settles, all of those guys will be worse than Lorenzen (they were last year). I go get an upgrade now and if they all do well, it should be a championship caliber pen. If some guys revert, they should still be good enough to compete. Pass on pursuing an upgrade and if a couple of those guys revert or if there is an injury, the pen will be the team's weakest area.

[Tom Servo]

So you want Duke around until 18 games in next year?

Well did work with the 2015 guys (Kris Negron and Brennan Boesch I remember in particular, not to trigger any bad memories) but Price was my white whale.

[Griffey012]

Wow, I must have missed that transaction. I assumed he was our annual minor league invitee who broke camp with the team despite being awful.

What a waste of resources.

I feel like it is just bad luck with the volatility of relievers. Fortunately it was only $2M and not 3/$24M like some teams have been burned by. Duke showed varying degrees of effectiveness over the past 5 years, and had been quite effective against LHH.

[The Operator]

Well did work with the 2015 guys (Kris Negron and Brennan Boesch I remember in particular, not to trigger any bad memories) but Price was my white whale.

I will approve if and only if you promise to say that Duke has baby bird brains.