Cincinnati Reds Bullpen Surprise

The Reds bullpen has looked amazing this year. It’s a good thing that they went out and spent the money on Ryan Madson, because the production that they are getting is keeping them in every game. Wait, hold on a second, he’s been injured all year. So it turns out Cincinnati has been doing it with guys like Logan Ondrusek, Jose Arredondo, Alfredo Simon, and Sean Marshall. These guys are posting career lows in ERA and WHIP, while simultaneously keeping the Reds alive. It begs the question, who are these guys? We here at Used Chevy Fairfield have the answer.

Unsung heroes! These pitchers have picked up the slack and are pitching out of their minds when the pressure is on. With injuries putting an additional burden on the bullpen, and limited help from the bats in the lineup, these relative unknowns have been getting outs when they are needed the most. When Cincinnati signed Ryan Madson during the offseason, they expected to team him up with Aroldis Chapman to have a one two punch for the 8th and 9th innings that would be among the best in the league. After Madson went down they had to shuffle around their relievers and find something that worked. You have to give them credit, because that is exactly what they did.

Turns out that signing Sean Marshall, though it wasn’t as flashy at the time, has paid more dividends to date than the Ryan Madson signing. If the Reds bats could come to life with the production we’ve grown to expect from years past, then they would be a force to be reckoned with.