Cincinnati Reds: Predicting the 2020 bullpen after adding Pedro Strop

6. Pedro Strop, Right-handed reliever

Meet your newest reliever. Reds fans had better get acquainted with Pedro Strop and his slightly crooked ball cap. Cincinnati signed the right-hander to a one-year/$1.8M deal according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal also states that if certain performance bonuses are met, the contract could top out at $3.5M.

For his career, Strop is 28-30 with a 3.21 ERA in 555 relief appearances. He’ll definitely be a relied upon arm in the Reds bullpen. Hopefully, Strop returns to form after a dismal 2019 season. After six very successful seasons in Chicago, Strop struggled to maintain that level of consistency in 2019. The 34-year-old went just 41.2 innings and put up a 4.97 ERA.

Source confirms: Free-agent reliever Pedro Strop in agreement with #Reds on one-year, $1.825M contract. Performance bonuses can raise total value to $3.5M. Represented by Movement Management Group. First reported: @hgomez27.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 30, 2020

That’s a far cry from his previous five full seasons in the Windy City when Strop averaged 59 innings of work, 67 strikeouts and put together a 2.61 ERA. The biggest difference last season was the free passes. After putting up a BB/9 of 3.2 in 2018, that number jumped to 4.3 in 2019. Strop’s HR/9 also more than doubled from 0.6 in 2018 to 1.3 in 2019.

The Cincinnati Reds are counting on a return to form from the right-hander in 2020. Pedro Strop has the makeup to have success at Great American Ball Park. For his career, according to FanGraphs, Strop has a 53.9% ground ball-rate. If Strop was able to keep the ball in the ballpark inside the Friendly Confines, then he should be able to do the same at GABP.

6. Pedro Strop, Right-handed reliever

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