Cactus schedule

[Redsfan1507]

He's 40, and not a knuckleballer....Not many Bartolo Colon's out there getting outs at that age.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Bronson has been throwing a baseball the velocity of a 40 year old most of his MLB career. With an unorthodox repetoir he managed to win 145 MLB games and log 200+ innings 8 times.

Bronson is not a knuckleballer, but the junk he throws would have to put him in a similar category.

Does he still have enough deception to get hitters out?
Looks like we're going to find out barring injury.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I noticed Dan Straily has only pitched a couple innings for the Marlins and none since Mar 2nd. Haven't seen any injury reports.

The Marlins got burned in the Mat Latos trade. Could be dejavu with the Straily trade. If I were the Marlins I stop trading with the Reds.

 

[JohnU]

Sink or swim now, it appears, with Bronson. It almost seems like the Reds are willing to divine an injury or two to a rotation pitcher and have contingency plans in place -- just pick up an old guy, tell the fans he's working his way into shape and -- VOILA! You got a pitcher!


BTW, this stuff has been going on for 100 years in baseball. Look at some of the greats of all-time. They end up throwing 6 or 7 games for "the Browns" or somebody at the end of their careers. Even Warren Spahn pitched for the Mets at the end.

 

[JohnU]

If Disco isn't going to be evaluated until mid-April, then he will need a minimum of a month to get in shape if he is cleared to pitch. That puts him in mid-May. I think June 1 is likely and probably I'd say he misses the whole season and part of 2018.

Assuming Homer can get anybody out, he won't be ready till June either.

Lucky we still have Simon's phone number.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Disco is out at least two months and more TBA later. He's been shut down each time he has begun his throwing program. So the odds that it flares up again are pretty high.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Has anyone else noticed that Bryan Price has Robert Stephenson on the back burner in the rotation competition?

Stephenson has yet to start a game and despite low pitch counts Price hasn't been increasing his innings load. His last outing was actually shorter than his previous appearance.

Stephenson had a terrible 1st outing, but has pitched well since with a 1.29 ERA, 8k's, 2BB, 0.86 whip over 7 innings.

It gives the appearance that Price has Stephenson earmarked for the bullpen. Seems strange to me with 3 openings in the rotation.

 

[JohnU]

It's kind of funny that we think the Marlins got hosed on the Latos trade, but time isn't showing we got a real great deal with Disco. Strailly trade TBD.

Stephenson was probably targeted for the 'pen as of Monday. I imagine Price was hoping for better news from Disco, even though you could tell this was happening from the dark side of Jupiter. Looks like a cobbled rotation again until the middle of June when the team is 30-45 and talking about improving in the "second half."

Adleman is going to be at best, well ... a former indy league pitcher. I like the guy. Hope he busts the mold.
Finny is probably the ace now, and he's a No. 3 guy on a contender that has 2 guys named Cueto.
Honestly, I don't see anybody who is really going to step up.
Bronson looks like our OD starter. Not really, but anyway ................

 

[Hit-n-Run]

In the end Mat Latos cost the Marlins more than Anthony Desclafani and Chad Wallach.

They traded their 2016 1st round competitive lottery pick to get the Dodgers to take him and the remainder of his $9.4M salary.

The Dodgers turned around and released Latos later. The Dodgers were buying prospects, not Latos in that three team trade with Atlanta.

Interestingly enough Jose Peraza and Bronson Arroyo were pieces involved in that trade.

.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

There's going to be growing pains with most any young pitcher. Johnny Cueto didn't start out as a ace either. It's a process.

The only guarantee a team gets by waiting another year is that the prospect is going to be another year older.

 

[JohnU]

There's going to be growing pains with most any young pitcher. Johnny Cueto didn't start out as a ace either. It's a process.

The only guarantee a team gets by waiting another year is that the prospect is going to be another year older.

I agree on this. Sadly, the word on Bailey was that he was finally learning to pitch, which may have made that contract worth it. We may never know. Lots of very good pitchers started out that way. We don't need the list.

All that worries me is that pitchers who aren't at the top of their game keep adding pitches that don't make them better, just more vulnerable. The cutter is not for everyone. Gotta wonder if Spahn ever threw a slider.

 

[JohnU]

Looks like our wish has come true -- we have our latest version of a Latin-speaking utility player.

Al-Can't-I-Rah.

Herrera and Castillo among the cuts.

Wherefore art Rentaria, Valdez, and DeJesus?

 

[JohnU]

 

[JohnU]

I am going to assume that Finny is the OD starter with Feldman No. 2, Stephenson No. 3, Romano No. 4 and Bronson carrying the dustpan. That would suggest that Adelman is the No. 6 guy if Bronson can't answer the bell. I'd also guess that Feldman is trade bait if/when Homer and Disco can actually pitch.

I do not like our chances.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

I'm thinking Bryan Price likes Amir Garrett and others more than Robert Stephenson. I've never heard Price speak fondly of Robert Stephenson as a SP and may envision him in the pen.

I think despite a good ST, Sal Romano is going to start in Louisville. He showed improvement the second half in AA and it carried over into this spring, but I see the conservative Reds wanting him to at least log some time at the AAA level. Previously the Reds had been quoted as liking Romano in the pen. Has his recent success changed their opinion? Maybe.

Rookie Davis is scheduled to start Monday's game. Is he still in the mix? He may fall into the same category as Romano. Davis only has a few AAA starts.

Arroyo is making the team if healthy. But as they attempt to stretch him out, that may prove to be wishful thinking on the Reds' part. I wish Arroyo luck, but I'm not convinced he's going to be durable enough to be in the rotation.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

If the bullpen locks are Iglesias, Lorenzon, Storen, Wood, and Cingrani.... who else makes it?

That's only one LHP. I think the only other lefties in camp are Wandy Peralta and Cody Reed. I think Peralta is the odd man out.

Signs point to Stephenson pitching out of the pen.

I think the last rotation spot is either Adleman or Reed. Reed may accompany Stephenson to the pen as the second lefty. Even though neither Cingrani or Reed profile as a typical bullpen lefty.

 

[JohnU]

Either way, we don't have 4 starters who can go 6 innings, so whatever bullpen Price offers will be an attempt to save a sinking ship by drilling another hole in it to let the excess water run out. The best way to improve is to win more games and if these guys had a plan to win 13 games a month, it's looking more like 11 games a month now.

However, Adelman might step up and give us 2 or 3 decent starts in April. That would matter.

I guess I don't pay much attention to what Price says lately, but I'd agree that Amir Garrett seems to be positioning himself for the rotation. Cody Reed probably will be on the short list. I thought we looked better with lefties when camp started. Reed allegedly had nothing more to learn at Louisville. I guess that means something.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

For the record. I don't have a problem with the five you listed in post #94. I think that Price has a different opinion on a few of them.

I don't think the Reds feeling the need to add a 40 year old veteran would appear on most fans wish list.

A couple guys I overlooked for the bullpen that have MLB service time. LHP Lucas Luetge and RHP Louis Coleman.

Luetge has pitched OK in the six innings he's been allotted. Coleman was late to get started, but they may take a look over the next couple weeks. They'd be dark horses to make the OD bullpen.

 

[JohnU]

I did see something on Coleman. As we appear to be seeing, this is a very fluid pitching staff. That might turn out to be something of a blessing over the course of a short series.

 

[JohnU]

Raburn appears to have made the Reds. No surprise there. I'd guess Winker is stuck in Lousyville again.


"Ryan Raburn is exactly who he is," Reds manager Bryan Price said on Saturday. "I don't think spring numbers are going to be a barometer -- good or bad -- for the type of impact he has on a club. He's a kid that wouldn't probably carry a ton of starts over the course of a year. But he's going to give us an experienced bench player. He knows the role. He handles velocity and he's used to facing the better relief pitchers later in the game. That experience to me is important."