Cincinnati Reds: David Bell should abandon the idea of a traditional closer

Before the season, David Bell said that the Cincinnati Reds were not going to use Raisel Iglesias as a traditional closer. It’s time to fulfill that commitment.

After last night’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Raisel Iglesias should no longer be the Cincinnati Reds closer. But who should take his place? I suggest that the idea of a traditional closer be abandoned all together and that David Bell, as he’s done throughout the season, play the matchup.

While I tend to think of myself as an “old school” fan of the game of the baseball, I’m also not immune to analytics and the new way of thinking. Numbers dictate a lot of what a manager does during any given game, and 11 losses is enough to convince me that Iglesias does not belong on the mound with the game on the line.

Now, perhaps I’m being a bit too harsh. After all, the Reds closer has 27 saves on the season, so the results have not been all bad. But, over his last 7 appearances, Iggy has gone just 4.2 innings, losing 3 games and owns an 11.57 ERA with a 2.36 WHIP. Iggy has no business toeing the rubber in the ninth inning unless the Reds are up or down by more than six runs.

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So, with that out of the way, let’s discuss the idea of who might replace Iglesias late in games. Last week, we looked at two internal options (Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett) as well as an outside candidate who’ll become a free agent this offseason. However, maybe it’s time to punt on the idea of a traditional closer and just put the best available on the mound late in the game.

The idea is not a foreign concept, as it was one that David Bell suggested the Reds would use this season anyway. Raisel Iglesias was supposed to fill the role of “bullpen ace”. Here’s what Bell had to say on the subject back in February via MLB.com:

“He’s too important to our team, too important to our bullpen where we want him to have as much personal success and be as comfortable as he possibly can, but the priority is going to be to win games, so sometimes it may be determined that the most important part of the game is earlier than a traditional save situation.”

Boom! There it is. David Bell had it right back in February, but somewhere along the way he diverted his thinking. When was that? Back in May when Iglesias, who was saddled with five losses at the time, vented to the media about his use in non-save situations. Here’s what Iggy had to say on the subject via CBSSports.com:

“You can see the other closers, they don’t pitch in tie games. I’m the only one who comes in tie games and I’ve given up homers and I’m losing some games. I feel really bad. I already have five losses, something that hasn’t happened (to anyone else) in the big leagues. Five losses in the first month of ball. That shouldn’t be like that.”

You can obviously see the conflict between the two statements. Bell wants his best players to be available whenever the situation calls for it. Iglesias wants to be pigeonholed into a specific role and does not want his manager to deviate from it. At the end of the day, this is Bell’s team and he needs to do what’s best for everyone on it, not just Raisel Iglesias.

What’s Iggy’s future with the Cincinnati Reds? If you’re asking me personally, I’d say bleak at best. While I’m not advocating for the Reds to designate Iglesias for assignment, I don’t think it’s a bad idea of the front office to explore a trade in the offseason. After a horrendous season, Iggy may not fetch a lot, especially considering he’s still owed $18M-plus over the next two seasons.

Now, moving forward, I don’t think it’s necessary to anoint anyone as a traditional closer. While Lorenzen and Garrett are the two options internally that make the most sense, both hold tremendous value outside of a traditional closer’s role.

Lorenzen can swing the bat, play the field and pinch run. While it may make the most sense to get Mikey Biceps the ball late in games, bringing him in exclusively in the ninth inning would be a mistake.

Garrett is in the same boat. Count On AG is the only quality left-hander that David Bell has in his bullpen. It makes no sense for Garrett to take on the closer’s role if there’s not another southpaw reliever who can be called upon to go head-to-head with left-handed batters.

David Bell had it right during Spring Training and hopefully he returns to that idea next season. Whether it’s Robert Stephenson, Sal Romano, Joel Kuhnel or an offseason acquisition, Bell should deploy the best pitcher available when the situation calls for it.