Cincinnati Reds: Predicting the 2020 bullpen after adding Pedro Strop

7. Cody Reed, Left-handed pitcher

There is going to be a battle in camp between Cody Reed and Sal Romano. Each player is a former starter now turned reliever and both are out of minor-league options. In the end, I think the nod goes to Reed. Being left-handed certainly helps his case, but Romano has also seen a downward turn in his performance since he was removed from the rotation in 2018.

Cody Reed is the last remaining piece from the trade that sent All-Star starting pitcher Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals back in 2015. Now, that’s not entirely true, as fellow left-hander Brandon Finnegan is still with the club. Reed saw action in just three games last season before injuring his knee and finished the 2019 season on the injured list.

Reed has talent, and showed lsat year while the Reds brass has always been so high on him. In just 6.1 innings of work, Reed struck out seven batters ands put up a 1.42 ERA and 1.105 WHIP. Those numbers sound a lot better than Reed career-ERA (5.42) and career-WHIP (1.596). Walks have been a problem for Reed, including a walk-rate of 24.1% back in 2017.

Again, the idea behind keeping Reed on the 26-man roster boils down to minor-league options. Reed, Romano and Lucas Sims are all out of options. Sims helped cement his status on the team last season, but Reed and Romano failed to do that. Reed will need a good showing during camp to prove that he’s healthy.