David Bell's decision to start Mike Minor over Luis Cessa is absurd

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has made the decision to start Mike Minor for tonight's game versus the Milwaukee Brewers. This will result in Luis Cessa returning to the Reds bullpen.

While Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Bell has not ruled out another start for Cessa before the season ends, it is utterly insane to start Minor at this point in the season over a pitcher who could be part of the Reds rotation in 2023.

Cessa has answered the bell and been effusive about his desire to be in the starting rotation. Minor, on the other, has fallen on his face time and time again and Reds Country cannot wait until after the World Series when the left-hander's option will officially be declined.

Reds manager David Bell is making the wrong decision.

There are bad decision, and then there are those puzzling moves that drives Reds fans nuts. This is the latter. David Bell turning to Mike Minor over Luis Cessa makes no sense at all.

Even the most casual Reds fan can see the glaring differences. In Minor's last outing, the southpaw lasted just three innings and gave up five runs on five hits while walking five batters and striking out just one. Since September, Minor has allowed 22 hits in 13.2 innings of work and owns an ERA of 6.59.

As for Luis Cessa, his last start saw the St. Louis Cardinals collect just one hit over five innings. Cessa is 1-1 in September with a 3.80 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 22.1 innings. While Cessa struggled in his outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the right-hander was virtually un-hittable versus the Cardinals.

If Cessa is in the bullpen, he'd better be ready to take the hill in the second or third inning. Minor is usually good for one time through the opponent's batting order and that's about it.

Mike Minor's time in Cincinnati will be over in less than two weeks, but the Reds have the good fortune of Luis Cessa returning in 2023. This is just a bad call on the part of Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell. Plain and simple.