Reds: 3 areas Cincinnati needs to clean up heading into May

2. The Reds must find a reliable closer.

I have no problem with David Bell trotting a mix of Amir Garrett, Sean Doolittle, and Lucas Sims during the first month of the season. After the team traded away Raisel Iglesias this past offseason, the closer’s role was up for grabs.

However, as we enter the month of May, it’s apparent that Bell cannot count on AG; at least not right now. Garrett has been a shadow of himself during the early-going, posting a 12.27 ERA over 7.1 innings and blowing two save opportunities. While Garrett had hoped to lock the position down, he looks to be ticketed a middle relief for the time being.

Doolittle has seen the field 11 times and it’s been a mixed bag for the veteran left-hander. Doolittle has a 4.66 ERA through the first month of the season and 13 punch outs through 9 innings. Doolittle’s splits reflect what you’d expect from a LOOGY; with a slash line of .176/.222/.235 against lefties and .316/.440/.579 versus right-handed batters.

Lucas Sims is the guy that David Bell should turn to with the game on the line. The right-hander notched his first career save during the month of April, and the former Atlanta Braves prospect has looked sharp in the early-going.

While Sims ERA (6.23) ballooned following a poor outing versus the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 22nd, the 26-year-old responded with a stellar performance against the World Champion Dodgers, punching out four the six batters he faced on Monday night. Sims has a ridiculous 42.9% strikeout-rate according to FanGraphs. Sims should be Bell’s go-to guy late in games.