Next man up seems to be a common theme in sports, but the Cincinnati Reds have taken it to an entirely different level since the start of the 2016 season with their pitching. Brandon Finnegan returned from the disabled list earlier today to take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Brandon Finnegan left the game with an injury earlier today against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds announced that he had a strained left triceps muscle. As is always pointed out, a strain means a tear. How much of a tear is important here, and we don’t know the severity of that yet. Either way, though, things are never good when something in your body is torn.
It would seem almost impossible that Brandon Finnegan makes his next start, or any of the next few at the very least. That brings up the question of who could step into the rotation for the Reds and fill out the rotation. Looking solely at the options that are pitching on the same day, things could work out well for the team. Tyler Mahle is currently pitching for Louisville. Austin Ross is pitching for Double-A Pensacola.
Neither of the two players are on the 40-man roster. Tyler Mahle is certainly more of a true prospect than Austin Ross is, but both guys have been very successful this year in Double-A. Ross entered the day with nine starts for Pensacola and a 1.21 ERA, though his time in Triple-A in five games didn’t go quite as well (4.91 ERA in 25.2 innings).
Tyler Mahle has been dominant for Pensacola all seasons. He posted a 1.59 ERA in 14 starts at the Double-A level this year. He has walked just 17 batters and struck out 87 in 85.0 innings. If the Reds decide to go with Mahle, despite just one start at the level, it will likely be because of the same logic that the team used when they picked Luis Castillo to start: He doesn’t walk guys.
While the Reds will be able to adjust the Triple-A rotation if they would like and choose any of the pitchers to come up and make the start, Cody Reed, Robert Stephenson and Amir Garrett have all had problems throwing strikes between Triple-A and the Major Leagues this season. Both Reed and Stephenson have been working on control related problems with Louisville over the last few weeks. Amir Garrett has yet to start for Louisville since he was sent down, though over his last nine starts in the Majors he only had two more strikeouts than walks.
The team could also choose to go with Sal Romano, who had control problems in his Major League debut, and then again on June 17th, but historically – especially over the last two seasons, he’s thrown a bunch of strikes and not walked hitters. The righty has a 3.23 ERA in eight starts for the Bats this season.
If I had to make a bet, I would put money on either Sal Romano or Tyler Mahle, but I would bet as little as possible. It’s tough to know exactly how the Reds will lean on this one. They’ve certainly got options and there’s a reason to argue for or against almost all of them. The biggest thing working against Tyler Mahle is that he’s not on the 40-man roster. The other options in Triple-A are all on the 40-man and wouldn’t require a roster move to be made. At the same time, if Finnegan’s injury is that serious, he may be moved to the 60-day DL to open up a spot.