Reds: 3 candidates to replace Tejay Antone who exited game with injury

On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds activated Tejay Antone from the injured list and designated Sean Doolittle for assignment. Unfortunately for Antone, the right-hander appeared to injure himself on the fifth pitch he threw during last night’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

During the eighth inning, Antone delivered a 2-2 curveball to Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez, and immediately grabbed his elbow. Antone bent over in pain, called for the trainer, and exited the game. Luis Cessa replaced Antone on the mound.

When a pitcher reacts like that, it’s never a good a thing. While Cessa replaced Antone during the at-bat, odds are good that Cincinnati will need to add another reliever before Wednesday night’s game in Milwaukee. Who might David Bell and the Reds turn to with Tejay Antone likely out of commission?

1. Reds right-hander Ryan Hendrix could replace Tejay Antone.

A simple addition to the ball club would be to recall Ryan Hendrix, who was just recently optioned to Triple-A Louisville after spending the first-half of the season with the big league club. Hendrix was called up in late-April and was optioned back to the Louisville Bats late last month after Cincinnati added Luis Cessa, Mychal Givens, and Justin Wilson to the roster.

Hendrix is already on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move would not be necessary. That said, a corresponding move would not be necessary as Cincinnati’s roster is currently sitting at 37. The front office could select the contract of a minor league player without removing anyone from the team’s 40-man roster.

Hendrix has been one of the Reds top relief prospects for some time now. At 26 years old, this season was the opportunity for the right-hander to prove that he could handle the rigors of the major leagues. Hendrix started out well, but began to struggle as the season waned.

Since heading to Louisville, Ryan Hendrix has appeared in seven games and owns a 6.00 ERA. However, if you throw out his first game back with the Bats, Hendrix has allowed just one run on one hit, a home run back on August 8th in St. Paul. Hendrix has a 36.4% strikeout-rate since returning to Louisville and hasn’t walked a batter.