Reds reliever Lucas Sims has been sensational since costly snafu last month

Lucas Sims has seen his role with the Cincinnati Reds shift over the course of the season. Originally the setup man for closer Alexis Diaz, Sims has become David Bell's go-to reliever when the situation becomes dire.

Sims had perhaps his worst outing of the season about a month ago against the Miami Marlins. Holding a slim one-run advantage in the seventh inning, Sims was called upon to bail out Buck Farmer after a hit-by-pitch put the tying run on base.

With a runner on first base, Sims saw Miami Marlins slugger Jorge Soler ambush a 94-mph fastball and launch it into the seats at Great American Ball Park on August 8th. The round tripper was the first that Sims had allowed since July 2nd and only his fifth all season.

Reds reliever Lucas Sims has been sensational since costly snafu last month.

That homer by Jorge Soler, however, turned out to be the difference in the Miami Marlins 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. But since that snafu, Lucas Sims has been arguably the best reliever in the Reds bullpen.

In the 10 games since, Sims has logged 9.2 innings while allowing just four hits and has struck out 13 batters. While the walk-rate (17.5-percent) is certainly something that Sims would like to see go down, he's limited batters to just a .138 batting average-against while maintaining am ERA of 1.86.

He's also seen 12 inherited runners during that stretch. No one on this Cincinnati Reds team has seen near the number of inherited runners that Sims has this season. More than half (30) of Sims 59 appearances this season have come with runners on base.

Sims has only allowed 24-percent of his 50 inherited runners to score. That's a terrific percentage and among the best in the game. For comparison's sake, Buck Farmer has inherited 29 runners, Alex Young has inherited 42, and Ian Gibaut has inherited 33. Those three have allowed a combined 31.7-percent of their inherited runners to score.

Lucas Sims has been one of the Cincinnati Reds relievers all season. The right-hander enters the offseason with one year of arbitration eligibility remaining. The Reds should really consider extending 29-year-old, as Sims has been one of the team's clutch performers in 2023.