Cincinnati Reds: Bullpen help is necessary to compete in 2020

The Cincinnati Reds bullpen has been exposed in recent outings. If the Reds hope to compete in 2020, additions to the bullpen are necessary.

The Cincinnati Reds trade for Trevor Bauer indicates that the front office is going all in next season. The starting rotation has three very good starters in Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray. However, Reds fans have seen several outings of late where the bullpen has faltered. If the Reds hope to contend in 2020, the Reds must stabilize the bullpen.

While the offense has had its struggles this season, they have been much improved since June 1st. The rotation and the lineup show a lot of promise for next season, but it’s the bullpen that needs to be addressed.

The Reds need to sign at least two relievers to be a contender in 2020, and not just a veteran who has been around awhile. The Reds needs real quality  relief pitchers to be a legitimate contender next season.

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Addressing the bullpen should be the No. 1 priority for the front office this offseason. The team needs quality arms that can finish a game. Reds starters should be handing a lot of quality starts to the bullpen, but those starts don’t matter if you can’t lock down the win.

While the bullpen does have some nice pieces with Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett, better depth is needed. If you have watched Lorenzen’s last couple of outings, you can see that he is wearing down from, what I assume to be, excessive use throughout this season.

The bullpen needs better depth, but that depth needs to be quality. Look at any real contender and you will see a deep bullpen that can shut a game down when handed a lead from the starter.

The Reds are getting a lot of production from players on minimum contracts, which allows them to go spend some serious money this off-season to fill some holes. According to spotrac.com, the committed payroll for next season, as of now, hovers around $66-million.

There will be arbitration cases that increase that number, but the payroll will still be well under $100-million, and if the Cincinnati Reds hold true to their word, they will spend in the $120 million range again next season. At minimum, the Reds should have $30 million to spend on free agent talent.

If the Cincinnati Reds really want to be a legitimate contender in 2020, adding depth to the bullpen is a must. The Reds bullpen currently ranks 14th in Major League Baseball with an ERA of 4.38. If Cincinnati wants to join the contenders, such as Cleveland Indians (3.25), Houston Astros (3.71), Los Angeles Dodgers (3.96), New York Yankees (3.96), improvements must be made to the relief corps.