As the Cincinnati Reds prepare for a stretch of 30 games in 31 days, beginning Friday, they called up left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez and demoted José De León.
Pérez had a standout spring training, but he struggled with his command in his first stint in the big leagues this season. He’s allowed six hits and eight earned runs in 8 2/3 innings, walking eight and striking out eight. He was demoted when the Reds had a taxed bullpen prior to their last road trip.
The 25-year-old pitcher was with the Reds on their taxi squad during their last road trip. He pitched a scoreless inning at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, striking out two and walking one.
“When he was here, he showed what he was capable of,” Reds manager David Bell said of Pérez. “We just believe, right now, he’s one of our best eight or nine relievers.”
De León, who has an 8.35 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, opened the season in the rotation before Sonny Gray returned. He’s given up at least two runs in four of his last five relief appearances. He can rack up strikeouts as well as anybody, but he’s been inconsistent in multi-inning outings.
When he reports to Louisville, he will remain in the bullpen.
“He’s a Major League talent,” Bell said. “He’s shown what he can do. The results recently, we just know he’s capable of helping us even more, and that’s kind of the goal for him to go, get ready and get back, so that he can help us.”
Pérez, as a lefty, does provide some protection if Garrett serves a seven-game suspension. Sean Doolittle is the only other lefty in the team’s bullpen.
“As far as Amir’s situation goes, I have no idea how long that will take, so we didn’t base the decision on that,” Bell said. “But it was more just as of today, we felt like Cionel could help us win games, and that he was one of the best guys that we could carry in the bullpen. But at some point, we are going to have to address that, deal with it. It’s just hard to know the timing.”
CASTELLANOS OUT: Nick Castellanos was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with mid-back tightness. He left Tuesday’s game in the sixth inning with the injury, though the score played a factor in that decision.
“He had a little bit of tightness,” Bell said Tuesday night. “If it was a different game, different score, I would have kept him in. He would have stayed in. We were just being a little bit cautious with the quick turnaround, 12:30 p.m. game (Wednesday).”
Nick Senzel, who was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with a sore left shoulder, was back in the lineup Wednesday and hitting leadoff.
LONGTIME MENTOR: David Bell chatted for a few minutes before Tuesday's game with White Sox manager Tony La Russa. Bell played under La Russa for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996-98.
"I didn’t play very much and I didn’t probably handle it great, but I got a lot of time to study what he was doing," Bell said. "I watched him really close. I tried to learn. I had a lot of time in the dugout. I would actually stare at him, just kind of watch and be inside of his head and figure out what he was thinking."
La Russa, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, is back managing in the dugout for the first time since winning the 2011 World Series.
When Bell interviewed for his first managerial position, with the Arizona Diamondbacks, La Russa was a part of the team's front office.
"I think looking back at Tony and playing for him, the way he got his teams to compete and just how he didn’t miss anything, he was on top of everything, those two qualities were kind of what stuck with me," Bell said. "Even when I started managing, I would often think, like, what would Tony do right here.
"I would say probably second to my dad, I would think about Tony and try to think what he would do in this situation or how would he handle this situation. Definitely influential. Just obviously, unbelievable amount of success and respect that I have for him."
MOELLER MAN: Left-handed pitcher Phillip Diehl, who was designated for assignment Sunday, will remain in the organization after he cleared waivers. Diehl was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville.
Diehl, a Moeller grad, was on the Reds’ taxi squad during their last road trip, but he has not been called up to the big-league roster.
MARTY WEEKEND: The Reds announced they rescheduled their Reds Hall of Fame ceremonies to Friday, Aug. 27. Marty Brennaman is the lone inductee in this year’s class, and he will become the first broadcaster inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.
The event, which was posptone will include an alumni softball game with many former players scheduled to attend. Ticket information has not been announced.
ALMOST HOME: Chicago Cubs backup catcher Tony Wolters attempted to steal home in Sunday's game against the Reds on a delayed steal. He was out after a replay review, his lead foot was above home plate on his slide, but Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart kicked himself for the lackadaisical tag.
"If I had a say so, I would probably have made them call him safe because I kind of gave up on the play," Barnhart said. "I hadn’t really seen that play in quite some time. It was like a travel ball play, but it almost worked.
"I thought it was kind of an aggressive play, but he deked me out. I thought he was going to give himself up and he deked me pretty good. It was almost one of the more embarrassing plays of my career. I’m glad we’ve got replay."
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