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

3. Reds left-hander Reiver Sanmartin could replace Tejay Antone.

When Tejay Antone was recalled yesterday, the Reds designated Sean Doolittle for assignment. Cincinnati’s bullpen now has just two left-handed pitchers. While that’s more than enough, with a nine-man relief corps, perhaps David Bell and Derek Johnson would like to have a southpaw to call upon. Reiver Sanmartin has has a measure of success at Triple-A Louisville this season.

If there’s one thing Sanmartin is, it’s versatile. The 25-year-old has appeared in 20 games this season with 12 starts and eight relief appearances. Sanmartin obviously would give the Reds a player, similar to Jeff Hoffman, who could go multiple innings in relief.

In his last 10 games, including five starts, Sanmartin has posted a 3.58 ERA over 32.2 innings of work. Sanmartin has a 23.0% strikeout-rate and 3.7% walk-rate during that span and a 3.15 FIP to go along with a 0.83 HR/9.

Reiver Sanmartin has allowed just nine hits and two earned runs in his eight relief appearances this season totaling 13.2 innings. That 2.93 ERA will play all day long. Sanmartin came to the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2019 season in the trade with the New York Yankees that brought Sonny Gray to the Queen City.

Any one of these three relievers are capable, though neither is likely to fill the void that will be left if Tejay Antone has to miss an extended amount of time. Hunter Greene is an option as well, though he’s been used exclusively as a starting pitcher this season. Might we see Greene in once September 1st rolls around?