Cincinnati Reds lean on Tim Adleman again as Homer Bailey disappoints again

After being forgotten by the Cincinnati Reds for much of the off-season, Tim Adleman is back in their starting rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds turned to Tim Adleman when the starting rotation fell apart last season.  Now they turn to him again as Homer Bailey cannot go to start the season and Bailey’s replacement, Rookie Davis, is also on the DL.  During most of the off-season, the Reds didn’t even mention Adleman as a rotation option.  Instead he was on the outside looking in for the rotation race this spring.

Entering the off-season the starting rotation was Anthony DeSclafani, Homer Bailey, Brandon Finnegan, Dan Straily, and Robert Stephenson.  Since then, the Reds traded Straily, while DeSclafani and Bailey injured themselves.  That left the Reds with Finnegan and Stephenson as the only healthy projected starters.

The Reds moved top prospect, Amir Garrett, into the projected rotation with the trade of Straily.  They also signed veterans Scott Feldman and Bronson Arroyo to challenge for a rotation spot.  Arroyo in turn got off to a slow start, but has recently turned it around.  That left the Reds at least one starter short of a full rotation.

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The signing of Feldman was really the first sign that the Reds realized the rotation was in trouble  Prior to the signing of Feldman, the Reds lacked strong candidates in-house besides Adleman for the primary long reliever role in the bullpen.  Now Feldman and Adleman are both starting due to the injuries.

Now the Cincinnati Reds have Tim Adleman in the middle of their rotation after starting the season in Triple-A.

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With the status of DeSclafani uncertain for the first half of the season his spot in the rotation, much like last year, is in question.  Last year number five starter and current set-up man Raisel Iglesias made the start.  This time around Feldman was the Opening Day starter when the Reds ran out of other options.

The idea behind signing Arroyo was to have an emergency front man.  Of course, Feldman ended up in the number one spot out of necessity.  Part of the reason that the Reds signed him is willingness to fill multiple roles.

The Reds had to go with Feldman due to DeSclafani’s injury and the awful springs of Adleman and Arroyo.  The Reds tried to stick with four starters, but Arroyo entered the rotation early on as there were not enough off days to keep a short staff.  With Davis and Finnegan going down in the same week the Reds made the call to Adleman after he impressed in relief of Sal Romano’s MLB debut.  Then he pitched six strong innings, allowing two runs, in his first start of the 2017 season.

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So the most under appreciated starter in 2016 once again is challenging for that role again in 2017.  Hopefully Bailey will be back by the All-Star Game so that Adleman can go back to Louisville.  Then again the Reds might just need him to cover for another pitcher by then.