Reds face obvious hurdles amid six-man rotation buzz

Whenever a team has six quality starting pitchers — though in the case of the Cincinnati Reds you could argue it's seven — there's bound to be obvious buzz surrounding the idea of a six-man rotation.

The top of the Reds rotation is essentially set in stone. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, and Brady Singer will lead the way for Cincinnati in 2026. Behind those four are Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, and Brandon Williamson, all of whom could lay claim to the fifth and final spot in the Reds rotation.

Cincinnati's pitching depth begs the question: why not just go with a six-man rotation? During an episode of The Big Podcast Machine with Cincinnati Enquirer columnists Gordon Wittenmyer and Pat Brennan, Reds Director of Pitching Derek Johnson spoke about the idea of a six-man rotation, and based on his response, it's not something fans should expect to see in 2026.

A six-man starting rotation doesn't make sense for the Reds at the beginning of the 2026 season

"I've kicked the tires on a six-man (rotation) and Tito and I have talked about it just very briefly," Johnson said. "And it sounds great on paper...but I think on the other side of it too, it takes a guy out of your 'pen and especially early in the season that's where you can get really short in the bullpen. We don't have a ton of optionable pitchers in the bullpen either so that does it make it a bit more difficult to fathom a six-man idea."

Johnson laid out two major reasons why a six-man rotation wouldn't work. The biggest being the schedule at the outset. The Reds open the season on Thursday, March 26 against the Boston Red Sox, and then have an off-day on Friday. After two more games against the Red Sox, Cincinnati hosts the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games and then have another day off before playing the Texas Rangers.

To DJ's point, that extra rest to begin the season doesn't really scream six-man rotation. If the Reds stayed on rotation, assuming Greene is the Opening Day starter, he would be on seven days rest before stepping onto the rubber in Arlington, Texas. Meanwhile, the Reds would be relying on just seven relievers.

As Johnson points out, the Reds don't have a large number of relievers who can be optioned back and forth between the big leagues and Triple-A. Among those assumed to make the Reds Opening Day roster, only Graham Ashcraft and Connor Phillips can be shuttled between Cincinnati and Louisville without exposing them to waivers, and both are key members of the relief corps.

Johnson hinted at the possibility of a six-man rotation sometime later this season. But given the volatile nature of a 162-game season, and the inherent injury risk attached to starting pitchers, it's quite likely that one or more of the Reds starters who are left off the Opening Day roster will make an appearance at some point this year.

Like DJ said, a six-man rotation sounds good on paper, but practically speaking, it's not going to happen.