CLEVELAND –– When Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene threw 7 ⅓ no-hit innings on Sunday, he used two different ways to communicate with Reds catcher Aramis Garcia.
With no runners on base, Garcia used traditional hand signals to call pitches. When the Pirates had runners on base, Garcia used the PitchCom device to communicate with Greene.
“(It's) just to keep a certain tempo,” Greene said.
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Over the last month, Greene has adjusted his routine between pitches and the way he uses PitchCom.
In the last week of spring training, Greene was the first Reds pitcher to use PitchCom in a game. Since Greene faced the Chicago White Sox in a spring training game on April 1, the Reds’ catcher has worn a wristband with buttons that communicated signals to a speaker in Greene’s hat. Instead of using hand signals to call for a fastball or a slider, Greene and the catcher used this electronic device.
It worked so well that by the start of the regular season, every Reds pitcher was using PitchCom on every pitch. At least until recently.
One of the biggest reasons that MLB teams started using PitchCom was to prevent legal sign stealing. When there’s a runner on second base, it’s common for that baserunner to try to communicate to the hitter the signs that he’s seeing.
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But when the hitting team has no runners on base, there isn’t as clear of a way to identify and communicate the traditional signs to the hitter. As a result, there isn’t as much of a need to use PitchCom.
In Greene’s start against the Pirates, Reds catcher Aramis Garcia used traditional hand signals behind the plate without runners on base, pointing his fingers toward the ground to call different pitches.
“I feel like with nobody on, (PitchCom) slows the tempo of the game,” Garcia said. “It’s harder to click buttons than put fingers down with nobody on. With runners on, when you’re sequencing multiple signs, it’s easier to press the buttons. That’s why we did that (Sunday) to keep his pace up.”
When the Pirates had runners on base, Greene went back to using PitchCom. Greene’s routine on Sunday against the Pirates clearly worked, as he pitched into the eighth inning and struck out nine batters.
“It’s just finding a way to get into a rhythm of what they need to do,” Reds manager David Bell said. “Using it when they really need it with a runner on second. It’s more of a timing thing for whatever they feel comfortable with getting into the flow.”
REHAB UPDATE: Reds first baseman Joey Votto had his rehab assignment transferred from the Triple-A Louisville Bats to the High-A Dayton Dragons. With the Bats going on the road this week, Votto will be able to continue his rehab closer to Cincinnati.
Votto has been on the COVID IL since May 3, and he began a rehab assignment on May 14. In two games with the Bats, Votto was 1-for-4 with three walks.
ROSTER MOVES: Reds right-handed pitcher Robert Dugger, who was designated for assignment last week, accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A. Dugger was taken off the 40-man roster when the Reds promoted reliever Ross Detwiler from Triple-A, and Dugger cleared waivers for the second time in an eight-day window.
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The Reds added catcher Sandy León to the taxi squad, providing additional depth at catcher for the team’s current three-city road trip. León was hitting .191 in 15 games with the Bats.
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