2 pitchers who should replace Luis Cessa in the Reds rotation and 2 who shouldn't

Ben Lively should replace Luis Cessa in the Reds starting rotation.

The Cincinnati Reds traded veteran pitcher Chase Anderson to the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this week. Otherwise, he'd be the odds-on favorite to replace Luis Cessa in the Reds starting rotation. Second on that list, however, should've been Ben Lively. With Anderson gone, Lively should be elevated to No. 1.

Lively is an interesting case as the 31-year-old was originally drafed by the Reds back in 2014. Lively was then part of a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that sent Marlon Byrd to Cincinnati. Lively has since seen time with the Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Samsun Lions of the KBO.

Lively signed a minor league deal with the Reds last spring and rejoined the organization on another minor league contract this offseason. Lively has been dealing down at Triple-A Louisville and desreves a look.

Lively is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.074 WHIP. Lively has typically done a decent job of keeping the ball in the ball park with a 0.7 HR/9 over the past two seasons at Triple-A Louisville. He's never going to light up the radar gun, nor is he going to rack up double-digit strikeouts on a nightly basis.

But Ben Lively could be a nice stop-gap option until the Cincinnati Reds deem some of their younger arms ready for the big leagues. Levi Stoudt's struggles were mentioned earlier, but he's not the only Reds pitching prospect who's faltered this season.