Reds reliever Ricky Karcher loses his roster spot with unsustainable walk-rate

We'll always have that June night in Kansas City. But, unfortunately for relief pitcher Ricky Karcher, his services are no longer needed; at least not on the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster.

The Reds designated Karcher for assignment on Thursday afternoon before their game against the Washington Nationals. Karcher was DFA'd in order to make room for fellow reliever Tony Santillan.

The Reds optioned Tuesday's starter Brett Kennedy back to Triple-A and recalled Santillan from the 60-day IL. This will give the Reds added depth in the bullpen and an extra starter down in the minors.

Ricky Karcher's wildly erratic command saw his spot on the Reds roster disappear.

By all accounts, Ricky Karcher will probably pass through waivers and be outrighted back to Triple-A Louisville. So don't think of this as goodbye, but rather, see you later.

But what Reds fans saw from Karcher on June 12th was mirrored in his minor league outings as well. That night, while he earned the save in his major league debut, Karcher walked one batter and landed just nine of his 21 pitches for strikes.

Karcher's stint with the Louisville Bats this season had seen the right-hander walk an overwhelming 44 batters while striking out just 36. When your strikeout-rate 21.7-percent is lower than your walk-rate (26.5-percent), you're job is no longer secure.

According to FanGraphs, Karcher owned a 12.64 walks per nine innings pitched and 2.33 WHIP. Couple that with a 7.18 ERA and 7.74 xFIP, and you can easily see why the Cincinnati Reds waved goodbye to the 25-year-old rookie.

Ricky Karcher will likely remain with the organization, but with such an erratic fastball, regaining that 40-man roster spot may not come until the offseason at the earliest. Karcher will need to prove that he can command his heater before coming back to the big leagues.