Cincinnati Reds must tell Raisel Iglesias to train as a closer for as long as he's there
The Cincinnati Reds should avoid the mistake that they made with Aroldis Chapman and let Raisel Iglesias know that he is a reliever in Cincinnati.
Every offseason the Cincinnati Reds would tell Aroldis Chapman to train as a starter and every spring they would use him as a reliever. That sort of non-sense needs to stop. Raisel Iglesias is likely on his way out the door, but if he stays around he should be the closer.
The Reds had the worst bullpen by far in the first half of the 2016. The Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves had issues of their own, but controlling for ballpark and league made the Reds the worst. It was one of the worst of all-time, really.
The second half of the year saw a turn around of sorts for the bullpen. It didn’t become a world beater by any stretch of the imagination. It did catch and pass the Colorado Rockies’ bullpen in relief ERA.
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More than that, roles became defined with the additions of Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen. During the off-season they were both favorites to be starting pitchers in 2016. Unfortunately, they both suffered injuries well before the All-Star break. Lorenzen didn’t even make it out of spring training in one piece.
The Reds have enough organizational starting pitching depth, but lack quality relievers.
The Reds can put together a respectable starting rotation without Iglesias or Lorenzen, but have difficulty building a bullpen without one of the two. With a rotation built around Anthony DeSclafani, Dan Straily, and Brandon Finnegan, the Reds have the building blocks of a competitive rotation.
Should Homer Bailey return to anywhere close of what he was before the injuries derailed his career, the Reds would have a better than average rotation very quickly.
By contrast the bullpen needs an anchor. Whether that pitcher is Lorenzen or Iglesias probably doesn’t make too much of a difference. Both are career relievers who have dabbled at being starters. From the Reds’ perspective, Lorenzen has more controllable years and a slightly higher upside.
In any case, the Reds should let Iglesias know that he is going to be a reliever for the rest of his tenure with the club. That may only last another month or it may be two more seasons. Iglesias needs to know where he stands.
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The Reds made the mistake to jerk Chapman around and it benefitted no one. Now they have a chance to do things the right way. Only benefits come from being direct with their young pitcher.
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