Sam Moll was the hero at Citi Field. Standing at his locker last Tuesday in the road clubhouse after his most impressive game of the season, Moll got the \u201cNew York spotlight.\u201d He had the attention of eight reporters, several cameras and a few teammates who stopped what they were doing to cheer on the moment. <\/p>\n
It was the start of an eventful, a trying, a sometimes crushing and a rollercoaster of a week for the Reds\u2019 bullpen. <\/p>\n
The last seven days in the Reds\u2019 bullpen are a story of what it\u2019s really like trudging through the dog days of a season, and what it\u2019s really like when it could feel like the walls are caving in. It\u2019s a story of facing adversity, in some cases a story of perseverance and a story of what happens when you\u2019re just looking for a guy who can throw a strike. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we\u2019re kind of the land of opportunity,\u201d Terry Francona said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s realistic that everyone who gets called up is going to take it and run with it. If a couple of guys do, it really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds\u2019 bullpen has very little structure in terms of roles right now. Injuries have taken their toll. New faces are cycling through. Three relievers are currently in DFA limbo.<\/p>\n
What an eventful week it\u2019s been. <\/p>\n
Wednesday: The Mets beat the Reds, 4-2 <\/b><\/p>\n
Zach Maxwell returned to the active roster on May 23 because the Reds needed a fresh arm and because Connor Phillips (viewed as a potential long-term closer option but wasn\u2019t consistent enough to stay on the big league roster) and Jose Franco couldn\u2019t throw enough strikes. The rookie waited his turn for a couple of days as the Reds strung together a couple of wins. He was anticipating his next shot to show what he could do in the Reds\u2019 bullpen. <\/p>\n
Before Wednesday\u2019s game at Citi Field, he said that a conversation with Louisville pitching coach Carson Phillips during a recent stretch in Triple-A for Maxwell gave him some important reminders. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like (hitters) are a little too lax in the box,\u201d Carson Phillips told him. \u201cYou\u2019ve just got to attack. You can\u2019t get behind. You can\u2019t be in their counts. You\u2019ve got to get in your own counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
That idea stayed at the front of his mind, and Maxwell had some success in Triple-A before being called back up to MLB. \u201cAfter that conversation we had, I\u2019ve been on the attack,\u201d Maxwell said. \u201cGuys are responding to how I\u2019m throwing, and I\u2019m not responding to how they\u2019re swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n
in the seventh inning of the series finale against the Mets with the Reds trailing by a run, Maxwell struggled finding the strike zone. Command is always the big thing with the right-handed flamethrower, and he didn\u2019t get the job done. He allowed a run in an inefficient two-thirds of an inning and didn\u2019t get out of the seventh. Maxwell only allowed a run, but his inning felt like a turning point in the 4-2 loss. <\/p>\n
Friday: The Braves beat the Reds, 8-3, Graham Ashcraft lands on the 60-day IL and Yunior Marte gets called up for his first big league game since 2024. <\/b><\/p>\n
The Reds don\u2019t have a way to replace Ashcraft. He had been their best reliever, and he was the only option who felt like a standout late-game option against both left-handed hitters and righties. There were games in May where it felt like Francona was game-planning to get Ashcraft in for the most important pitches of the game. Then, suddenly, he was on the 60-day IL with an elbow injury. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a punch in the gut,\u201d said Ashcraft, who joined closer Emilio Pag\u00e1n on the injured list. \u201cIt seems like we\u2019re getting unlucky with guys going down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds had a few options in Triple-A to fill the open roster spot, and Ashcraft landing on the 60-day IL gave the Reds the flexibility to call up any of them. Marte didn\u2019t have minor league options, and he wasn\u2019t on the 40-man roster. The Reds called him up because they believed he had the best shot to help. <\/p>\n
Francona acknowledged that the 31-year-old Marte had struggled being consistent before Marte made his Reds\u2019 debut, but there was a real exciting arm and underlying traits that showed intriguing potential. Marte looked like the best option the Reds had for the roster spot. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to get who we thought would be the best guy up here to see if we could stabilize this thing,\u201d Nick Krall said before the game. <\/p>\n
The call-up meant a lot to Marte, who spent last season in Japan. He said that he agreed to a minor league deal with the Reds before spring training because \u201cI was told that I had a chance to be in the big leagues with them. It\u2019s true. I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marte had pitched in over 100 big league games and even had received some leverage opportunities. He couldn\u2019t stick in the big leagues, he said, because his confidence in himself wasn\u2019t always what it needed to be. <\/p>\n
He believed that he got a lot of that confidence back with a great run with the Louisville Bats in May. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was hot,\u201d Marte said via interpreter Tom\u00e1s Vera. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons why they called me up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds were facing a hot Braves team with a great lineup. With the Reds down by a run in the sixth inning, Francona turned to Marte. Marte imploded, allowing a single, a hit by pitch, a double and a single. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not exactly how we planned it,\u201d Marte said. \u201cThose are things that are going to happen. There will be days like that. You have to stop that and keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putting Marte into the game was a much-criticized decision that backfired. <\/p>\n
It seemed like the Reds had two other options for that spot: Tejay Antone and Caleb Ferguson. <\/p>\n
Antone went 12 days with just one appearance out of the bullpen. <\/p>\n
Ferguson missed the first two months of the season with an oblique injury. Francona has been using Ferguson in lower-leverage opportunities since he was activated two weeks ago. So far, Ferguson has been very effective in his big league appearances. <\/p>\n
Saturday: The Braves beat the Reds, 5-2, Pierce Johnson lands on the 15-day IL, Lyon Richardson is activated, Kyle Nicolas is DFAd and Francona uses the Reds\u2019 top leverage relievers in a down game following a stretch where they hadn\u2019t pitched much. <\/b><\/p>\n
The Reds had a plan to build bullpen depth this season. Behind the group of veterans with late-game experience was going to be an exciting group of young pitchers with electric arms and real stuff. They wouldn\u2019t all click. But if a couple of them did, they had the ability to find themselves in the back of the bullpen very quickly. So far, none of them have really panned out. <\/p>\n
One of those arms was Nicolas, who the Reds acquired in March when they traded Tyler Callihan to the Pirates. Nicolas was coming off of a very strong September in the big leagues, and he has the stuff to be a setup reliever. He just was never able to throw strikes for the Reds, in the big leagues or in the minor leagues. Instead of calling Nicolas up to help out a reeling bullpen, the Reds DFAd him to open up a spot for Richardson. <\/p>\n
Richardson took Johnson\u2019s place on the active roster. Following an outing during the doubleheader in late May where Johnson threw two clutch innings, Johnson was dealing with a \u201ccranky\u201d elbow. It\u2019s expected to be a short-term injury, but the Reds placed him on the IL to allow Johnson to put the injury behind him. <\/p>\n
Johnson had been a durable, versatile and dependable middle reliever. Losing him to the IL, even if it\u2019s a short-term loss and a minor injury, felt like another bad moment in a lousy week for the bullpen. <\/p>\n
Richardson was viewed as one of those rookies with a big arm. He actually had the best big league track record of the entire group. Last May, he was the Reds\u2019 seventh-inning guy. He got worn down during the second half of the year and didn\u2019t keep that up, but he helped the Reds\u2019 bullpen in 2025 more than any of the other young arms when you look at the entirety of the season. <\/p>\n
Roster math (Richardson is out of options) didn\u2019t help him, and he ended up being removed from the 40-man roster in the offseason. But Francona said in spring training that he expected to see Richardson help the Reds in 2026. Richardson had a chance to follow the same path that Tony Santillan did in 2024. Needing immediate help, the Reds called up Richardson on Saturday with the hope that his versatility (Richardson can pitch multiple innings) and effectiveness versus righties and lefties would help the club. <\/p>\n
In that night\u2019s game against the Braves, Brady Singer struggled and took the loss. With how much the front of the bullpen had pitched recently, Francona called on Tony Santillan, Brock Burke and Sam Moll to help the Reds close out the game in a loss. <\/p>\n
The Reds\u2019 remaining relievers were working to keep morale up. Adversity had piled up high. <\/p>\n
\u201c<\/b>It\u2019s taking every day day-by-day and not panicking too much,\u201d Burke said. \u201cWe take every day at a time. Every series is a new series. Once that day is over and the next day starts, flush it. Learn from your mistakes and try to be better the next time. To be able to fill those roles back in, we\u2019ll take every day a day at a time. Every game is a 0-0 ballgame. We\u2019ll go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday: The Reds beat the Braves, 6-4. Sam Moll picks up Tony Santillan for the save.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Reds are sticking with Santillan. He just wrapped up the worst month of his career, and he has been going through a deep adjustment process to try to get back on track. But with Antone and Ferguson still working their way back and not yet called into high-leverage opportunities, with Moll\u2019s historic struggles versus right-handed hitters and with the entire rest of the bullpen aside from Burke being a part of the roster shuffle, Santillan is going to have to pitch his way back into a rhythm. <\/p>\n
Santillan\u2019s velocity is down this year, and he\u2019s getting much less swing and miss. He had some encouraging outings in May where it looked like his adjustments were getting his slider\u2019s swing and miss generating ability and his fastball velocity back on the right track, but Santillan hasn\u2019t been able to find consistency. <\/p>\n
Santillan entered the game on Sunday with the Reds up by three runs in the ninth inning. He allowed a walk and two singles and wasn\u2019t able to complete the inning. Moll had to pick him up and close out the game. <\/p>\n
Monday: Chase Burns gets scratched due to illness. Lyon Richardson opens the game, walks two, hits a batter and allows a grand slam. Marte gets DFAd. Brandon Leibrandt takes one for the team and throws six innings to get the Reds through a 9-2 loss to the Royals. <\/b><\/p>\n
After Marte\u2019s Reds\u2019 debut, Francona spoke about some things to like about Marte and his interest in seeing what Derek Johnson could help him unlock. But when the Reds desperately needed a spot starter at the last minute on Monday with Burns ill, the Reds had to call up Leibrandt. Marte got DFAd to open up the roster spot. <\/p>\n
Richardson made his big league debut in 2023. He has pitched in 41 big league games, and we\u2019ve seen that a game can get away from him, spiral and snowball very quickly. Monday was one of those games, and the Reds trailed 4-0 before they even got a chance to hit. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo command,\u201d Francona said. \u201cHe looked like he might wiggle out of it. Then, he threw one that caught too much of the plate. That was four right there. He threw 30 pitches. That\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds went on to DFA Richardson on Tuesday. The 26-year-old will now go on waivers. He has the talent to be a good reliever, but he couldn\u2019t throw strikes when he got his opportunity in the big leagues this season and the Reds had to move in another direction. Richardson joins Nicolas as pitchers with great arms who the Reds were bullish on at the start of the season and who had real potential to be back-end relievers, but who are no longer on the 40-man roster because they failed to command their pitches in the big leagues. <\/p>\n
To get through a game that looked unlikely for the Reds to win on Monday, Francona put Leibrandt in the game in the third inning and looked for length. Leibrandt allowed five runs on 10 hits in six innings, throwing 99 pitches. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we have a lead tomorrow,\u201d Francona said. \u201cIf we do and we win, he\u2019ll deserve a pat on the back. That was a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a pretty line for Leibrandt. But the game still meant the world to him. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty special,\u201d Leibrandt said. \u201cAny time you can put on this uniform and go out there in front of the fans, this is your dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
He made his big league debut in 2020 as a COVID replacement for the Marlins when an outbreak led to the team needing as much pitching as it could find. <\/p>\n
Leibrandt didn\u2019t pitch in the big leagues again until late in the 2024 season, when he pitched in two games for the Reds. His final game that season was one where he took one for the team in an ugly loss, just like he went on to do in 2026. <\/p>\n
He spent the 2023 season in Indy ball. In 2025, he made 14 starts in China. <\/p>\n
The 33-year-old was happy to take one for the team on Monday and give the Reds as many innings as he could. <\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I was going to provide some length,\u201d Leibrandt said. \u201cI was hoping to keep it a little closer. I know these guys have been throwing a lot lately. I just wanted to go out there and give innings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuesday pregame: Chris Paddack prepares to move to the bullpen and Zach McCambley is called up for his big league debut. Lyon Richardson and Brandon Leibrandt DFAd. Luis Mey called up.<\/b><\/p>\n
With Rhett Lowder\u2019s rehab progression following a shoulder injury nearing its end and with the Reds set to have an off-day on Thursday, the struggling Paddack\u2019s role was up in the air. <\/p>\n
It sounds like Paddack had some interest in helping out the bullpen. <\/p>\n
\u201cBefore we called up Leibrandt, we were trying to figure out, Could we get a bullpen day and get through it?,\u201d Francona said. \u201c(Paddack) was willing to go to the bullpen. I talked to him again yesterday because we changed our (plan) and called Leibrandt up. I told him, I appreciate what you said. I\u2019m not going to let you go out to the bullpen \u2014 he has had two Tommy Johns \u2014 and two days later put you in the bullpen without telling you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francona said that Paddack, who has a 6.90 ERA, could be available out of the bullpen as soon as Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Leibrandt had given the Reds the innings that they needed and was DFAd pregame on Tuesday, as was Richardson. <\/p>\n
Last weekend, the Reds picked Marte and Richardson for call-ups when the bullpen was desperate for help. But after it didn\u2019t work with either of them, the Reds called back up Luis Mey, who has some of the most impressive velocity that you\u2019ll see but has historically really struggled with command. He\u2019s another one of the rookies who hasn\u2019t been consistent enough. He has another opportunity now to make the most of his upside. The bullpen is the \u201cland of opportunity,\u201d and there would be a runway for a reliever as talented as Mey to pitch himself into a prominent role in the bullpen. <\/p>\n
To provide some length in the bullpen, the Reds called up Zach McCambley. The Reds acquired him in the Rece Hinds trade with the Marlins in late May.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a whirlwind year for McCambley. <\/p>\n
\u201cCrazy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The Phillies took him in the Rule 5 draft, and he competed for a spot on that roster through the final day of spring training. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got sent back, I was disappointed,\u201d McCambley said. \u201cI kept my nose to the grindstone and kept grinding. It got me here.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he didn\u2019t make the Phillies, he was returned to the Marlins\u2019 organization and opened the year in Triple-A.<\/p>\n
He felt like walks were an issue in spring training, and he was excited about the strides that he was making in Miami\u2019s system when the season started. He also showed the ability to pitch multi-inning appearances. <\/p>\n
The trade to the Reds caught him by surprise. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty quick,\u201d McCambley said. \u201cI threw three innings last Wednesday. I went about my day like normal. I woke up and got the call that I had the trade. Pack my stuff and get on going. It was a very quick process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he made it to Louisville, the message from the Reds\u2019 organization to him was, \u201cKeep doing your thing. Your time will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old got called up to the big leagues for the first time on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to dive in and see what happens,\u201d McCambley said. <\/p>\n
Tuesday night: The Reds beat the Royals, 4-3, in 10 innings. Maxwell keeps the Reds in it with a scoreless top of the ninth inning, and then Brock Burke earns a win with a scoreless 10th. <\/b><\/p>\n
Last Friday against the Braves, Francona saw some very encouraging signs from Maxwell. Following Marte\u2019s implosion that night, Maxwell picked up the pieces and got the Reds through the game with two scoreless innings. Francona believed it was the best he had seen Maxwell, and he wanted to see if he could carry that success forward. <\/p>\n
In the top of the ninth on Tuesday, the Reds were down by a run in the top of the ninth inning. With much of the bullpen either already used (Antone, Moll) or new to the roster (Mey, McCambley), the situation made sense to put Maxwell into the game. <\/p>\n
During the bottom of the eighth inning, Santillan was also warming up. Presumably, he would have pitched if the Reds took the lead. It was another reminder of the importance of Santillan getting back on track. <\/p>\n
With the Reds still trailing, Maxwell pitched the top of the ninth. He looked good and didn\u2019t allow a run.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing on the heels of his last outing, it was nice to see him back that up,\u201d Francona said. <\/p>\n
Maxwell, who has struggled with command but does have the stuff to be a closer down the road, showcased a fastball that hit 99.5 mph and used a wicked slider for an inning-ending strikeout. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trusting my stuff, working down the mound, throwing it through the zone and attacking,\u201d Maxwell said. \u201cThat\u2019s what got me up here. It\u2019s hopefully what\u2019s going to keep me here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the ninth, Will Benson hit a game-tying homer. <\/p>\n
The tenth inning went to Burke, who\u2019s now the most consistent reliever on the active roster with Ashcraft on the IL. <\/p>\n
Burke ended the scoreless 10th inning with a strikeout. As he walked to the dugout, he showed as much emotion as he had all year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely in the past have not done well in extra innings,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI just tried to be in the zone, keep the game slow and don\u2019t let the moment get too big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting the job done in that inning meant a lot to him. He kept the score tied, and Blake Dunn went on to hit a walk-off single. <\/p>\n
In the clubhouse after the game, Burke shouted out Leibrandt. Because Leibrandt pitched so many innings on Monday, guys like Antone, Moll, Maxwell and Burke were fresh and ready to throw big innings on Tuesday as the Reds beat the Royals. <\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday was the telling sign,\u201d Burke said. \u201cLeibrandt, that was huge for us to reset us a bit and give us a chance to win today. That was the game within the game yesterday to give us a chance to win today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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