Cincinnati Reds define Scott Feldman’s role as whatever the team needs, including starting Opening Day

The Cincinnati Reds aren’t sure what Scott Feldman’s role is going to be all season, but they are glad he is here.

The Cincinnati Reds signed Scott Feldman to be the team’s primary middle reliever shortly after trading away last year’s starting ace, Dan Straily, to the Miami Marlins. Since then the projected number three starter, Homer Bailey, has undergone surgery. Now Feldman has been pressed into a starting role.

Brandon Finnegan and Robert Stephenson are the only two starting pitchers from opening day last year that look poised to start the season this year on the Reds active roster. John Lamb and Alfredo Simon are no longer with the team, while Raisel Igleisas may start the season on the DL. Anthony DeSclafani was once again the projected opening day starter, but he didn’t make it through spring training in one piece.

The other two projected starters are Rookie Davis, in Bailey’s spot, and Amir Garrett who won the spot vacated by Straily. In fact, Feldman is more than likely replacing Stephenson in the rotation. Now Feldman is the Opening Day starter.

Aside from a bad spring by all of the back three of the Reds’ projected rotation, the abundance of great relievers this spring pushed Feldman into the rotation, too. The Reds had projected future set-up man Barrett Astin, Austin Brice of the Straily deal, and recently acquired Nefi Ogando all in camp to push Feldman and each other. With Blake Wood already having made the bullpen with these three, there is enough flexibility to allow Feldman to stay in the rotation, if that is the best move.

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The Cincinnati Reds have an opportunity to let the other relievers go into their best role, thanks to Scott Feldman’s flexibility.

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To date Feldman has been a multi-inning low leverage reliever or a back end of the rotation starter. That’s aside from two years in his career when he made opening day starts. The most holds that he has had in any one season was 7.

That was all the way back in 2006, during his second cup of coffee in the majors. He had trouble after the trade from the Houston Astros to the Toronto Blue Jays. There he pitched as a single inning middle reliever.

That informs us of what Feldman is good at. He is a multi-inning reliever lead or not The Reds should return him to that role if possible.

Feldman has the flexibility to be successful in other roles. The multi-inning role with the Reds behind or up by more than three is his sweet spot. That is where the Reds had trouble last year. How many times did Caleb Cotham or Steve Delabar come in and need Ross Ohlendorf to save them? That only happened once with the lead, but several times when the Reds were behind in 2016.

Once the Reds are healthy, they can bring Feldman into the game as a reliever. The Reds can avoid using this year’s version of Delabar or whatever pitcher they would be trying out instead. That should allow Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen to focus on the high leverage late innings. It should also leave decent depth in the pen. Tony Cingrani should be able to only pitch part of an inning when appropriate.

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Feldman is not a good enough signing that he will dominate the staff this year. He is good enough to have a spot on the staff all year long. If the staff is having a good year, he will pitch about 100 relief innings and start just a handful of games.

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