Bullpen roles constantly shift throughout a season and Jeff Hoffman could be setting himself up for more high-leverage situations.
Hoffman has been excellent for the past three weeks, allowing one earned run in his last 11 1/3 innings (0.79 ERA) with 14 strikeouts and five walks. During that stretch, he’s inherited four runners and none have scored.
He’s gradually shifted into a late-inning bullpen option. He’s pitched in the seventh or eighth inning in five of his last six appearances.
“Obviously, I’ll pitch whenever,” Hoffman said. “I want to be a workhorse. I want to be a guy that they feel like they can call on in any situation.”
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Hoffman started the season in a long-relief role, following the starting pitcher when the Reds were losing. He had a 2.38 ERA through his first seven relief appearances of the season, but eight of his 11 inherited runners scored.
One outing that grew his confidence was entering with the bases loaded and no outs against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15. One run scored on a walk, but he kept the Reds in the game in an eventual 3-1 loss by challenging the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup.
“I’ve kind of had the same approach all year,” Hoffman said. “I did a bunch of changes last season when I moved over to the bullpen. That’s where we set a plan in place and really tried to get good at a few things that were going to help prolong my career in the bullpen.”
Hoffman has relied more on his splitter than last season, which has been key against lefty hitters. Left-handed batters had a .905 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) last season compared to a .621 OPS this year.
“My split has been nails for me,” Hoffman said. “It’s been the pitch that you’ve probably seen me throw a lot 3-2 and in these crazy counts where in the past I’ve been pretty heavy fastball usage. I finally have this offspeed pitch that I really trust and believe in. I would like to get the slider to that point as well because then the sky is the limit.”
Hoffman was viewed as a prime change-of-scenery candidate when the Reds acquired him from Colorado. He features a high-spin fastball, which has been his main strikeout pitch this year, and he creates a lot of movement with his slider.
“All the metrics on (my fastball) have been good and promising,” Hoffman said. “Getting swings and misses, being able to throw it in the zone and them missing it or fouling it off. All types of strikes are welcome in my book, I don’t care how I get them. It’s been good.”
REHAB UPDATES: The Reds have three players on rehab assignments at Triple-A Louisville this week and could add another player to that list.
• Shortstop Jose Barrero, who was sidelined for all of spring training after he had surgery to remove the hook of the hamate in his left wrist, is 5-for-17 in his first five games on his rehab assignment with one double, one homer, one walk and seven strikeouts.
Barrero will likely need a couple of more weeks before he’s prepared to join the Reds, but he homered Tuesday and made an over-the-shoulder basket catch.
• Outfielder Jake Fraley had back-to-back homers with Barrero during Tuesday’s game. He’s 1-for-7 with three walks, three strikeouts and one stolen base in three rehab games. He went on the 10-day injured list on May 1 with right knee inflammation and isn’t expected to return during the Reds’ homestand.
• Left-hander Mike Minor is scheduled to make his fourth rehab start, and likely his last rehab start, on Thursday at Louisville. He’s expected to throw around 80 pitches. The Reds have an opening in their rotation for Friday’s series opener against San Francisco and have not announced a starter. Graham Ashcraft, who made his MLB on Sunday in Toronto, is a candidate, but he isn’t on the club’s 40-man roster.
• Infielder Max Schrock is expected to begin a rehab assignment later this week. He’s not eligible to return to the Reds until June 6 at the earliest because he went on the 60-day IL at the beginning of the season.
HENDRICK PROMOTED: The Reds promoted prospect Austin Hendrick, their first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, to High-A Dayton on Tuesday.
Hendrick, who will turn 21 in June, wasn’t hitting especially well at Low-A Daytona in his second year at that level. He was batting .205 with four doubles, seven homers and 21 RBI in 36 games. He struck out 58 times in 150 plate appearances with 14 walks.
In Hendrick’s first game at Dayton on Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts while scoring twice. He’s rated as the No. 15 prospect in the organization by Baseball America.
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