Cincinnati Reds miss Tony Cingrani’s presence in the bullpen as other pitchers have to make up the difference

With Tony Cingrani on the disabled list and Cody Reed in Louisville Wandy Peralta is the lone left-handed reliever in the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen.

The Cincinnati Reds haven’t had a traditional left-handed reliever all season long.  Tony Cingrani, Wandy Peralta and Cody Reed are all former starting pitchers.  None of them is significantly better against left-handed batters than they are against right-handed batters.

Cingrani was the closer for the Reds last year.  It caused him to face left-handed and right-handed batters in equal proportions.  He allowed similar slugging percentages to both, but struck out lefties more and held them to a lower OBP.  Even before those outcomes many wondered what Cingrani’s best use would be with the Reds, including his unusual versatility into the mix.

Peralta only had a limited run in Cincinnati last year, but has shown a similar issue.  He allows both types of batters to about the same OBP, but holds lefties to a lower slugging.  Keeping lefites to a lower OBP may be the first step in becoming something more than a regular lefty.

Reed had a difficult season last year as a starter.  He wasn’t good against batters from either side of the plate.  He was slightly better against lefties across the board, though, and continued that into this season.

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The Reds have no traditional left hander in their bullpen.  With Cingrani on the DL and Reed in Louisville, that leaves Peralta as the lone lefty in the bullpen.  The only advantage that the Reds lean on Peralta for is to keep left-handed sluggers in the park.

With the unique set-up of the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen having Tony Cingrani on the DL has a larger impact than it usually would.

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When Cingrani went on the DL, he had pitched five games this season.  He had five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.  With a 1.93 and a 1.07 WHIP Cingrani was controlling the game when he came in.

With Cingrani on the DL, the rest of the bullpen has been under more pressure.  Raisel Iglesias, Drew Storen and Peralta have stepped up.  The rest of the bullpen has been inconsistent.

Michael Lorenzen, Robert Stephenson, and Blake Wood have all had issues that are highlighted by the absence of Cingrani.  As he has done more, Lorenzen’s inconsistency has become more apparent.  Lorenzen has pitched both early and late in games, helping to cover for the lack of Cingrani.

Stephenson and Wood haven’t been good at all.  Now the Reds use them in exclusively in low leverage situations.  That caused the Reds to send down their long man in Reed.

When Devin Mesoraco came off of the DL, the slot of rotating relievers replacing Cingrani was no longer available.  The Reds sacrificed Reed so that Austin Brice could come up as a more traditional reliever.  Brice has to pitch well in order to stay in Cincinnati.

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Whether it is Brice or Stephenson that leaves, the Reds will be glad when Cingrani is ready to rejoin the roster.  As he throwing program progresses, the Reds will get a better idea of the timeline.  So far, the bullpen has been able to hold itself together while Cingrani has been out.