For about 20 seconds after Tuesday’s 17-3 loss, Sonny Gray started and stopped as he tried to answer a question about why the Cincinnati Reds have had up-and-down season.
“I’m not sure,” he said.
The Reds have a 24-29 record after 53 games, but this is a team that started the year with six wins in their first seven games. They haven’t posted a three-game winning streak since the first week of the season.
So, what’s to blame?
• Ownership opted to cut player payroll prior to the 2021 season, and it cost them a lot of depth. The Reds weren’t going to out-bid teams for Trevor Bauer, but they didn’t add another starting pitcher after Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani departed in free agency.
Now, they have little starting depth. Vladimir Gutierrez will make his second MLB start Thursday and the next tier of pitchers behind Gutierrez (Tony Santillan, Riley O’Brien, Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene) haven’t pitched in the big leagues, either. If the Reds had another DeSclafani, they could better absorb Luis Castillo’s horrendous start to the season.
Source link
