Reds: Horrific season for Amir Garrett may spell his demise in Cincinnati

Count on AG? Not in 2021. My goodness, was there any player on the Cincinnati Reds who had a more disappointing 2021 campaign than Amir Garrett? While there were a few bright spots, you can probably count them on one hand. Let’s pass out a grade for Garrett’s 2021 performance.

Garrett, believe it or not, led all Reds pitchers in appearances (63). However, outside of Heath Hembree (10), no Cincinnati reliever gave up more home runs than AG (9). The self-professed closer was bad from the jump.

While Garrett gained a save during his first action of the season, he hardly faced the mimimim. The southpaw didn’t appear in a single game during the opening weekend series versus the St. Louis Cardinals. But, against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 5th, AG finally took the mound.

AG battled six batters, allowed two hits (including one home run) and one walk while recording one punch out. In fact, the very first batter that Garrett faced this past season took him deep. Garrett’s first outing was a precursor of what would be his worst season in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

Reds pitcher Amir Garrett should be relieved this offseason.

Now, while Amir Garrett may think of himself as a world-beater, let’s not go nuts. The Cincinnati Reds reliever only owned a 0.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference, heading into the season. Garrett’s WAR now sits at zero after posting -0.3 WAR in 2021.

Garrett got off to a horrible start, but unfortunately, it never really got much better. During the month of April, AG owned a 12.27 ERA and 7.83 xFIP. While it’s a small sample size, those are not good at all.

Garrett’s performance in May was much better, but following his role in a benches-clearing incident with then-Cubs shortstop Javier Báez, the left-hander was forced to serve a five-game suspension. During the second month of the season, AG successfully dropped his ERA to 7.80 and had 16 strikeouts over 15 innings of work.

Amir Garrett did have nice stretch of games from mid-June through the All-Star break when the 29-year-old went 8.1 innings without allowing a run and struck 14 batters while posting a 15.12 K/9.

Garrett’s biggest issue all season were the free passes. AG allowed 29 walks, posted a 5.48 BB/9 and 13.5% walk-rate. Reds Country knows all too well that walks will haunt, and Garrett led all relievers in that category.

It’s hard not to give Amir Garrett anything other than an F for his performance this past season. Not only was his performance on the field horrific, but his antics and brash attitude have grown tiresome. It’s not necessarily bragging if you back it up, but AG failed to back it up in 2021. Look for Garrett to be a non-tender candidate this winter.