Reds might finally be arriving at Chase Petty decision that's long overdue

The Cincinnati Reds recalled right-hander Chase Petty to the big-league roster on Wednesday and optioned reliever Zach McCambley back to Triple-A Louisville. With Brady Singer drawing the start in the Reds' series finale against the San Diego Padres, it can be assumed that Petty will be working out of the bullpen. This is a decision that was long overdue.

Obviously part of the motivation behind adding Petty to the roster was the inordinate number of relievers used during Cincinnati's 5-3 win over San Diego on Tuesday night. But things were already trending in this direction, and you needn't look too far in the recent past to understand where this thing was headed.

Petty has made two spot starts for the Reds already this season. He logged 5⅔ innings on May 4 against the Chicago Cubs and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out just one batter. On May 23 against the St. Louis Cardinals, Petty lasted five innings, and allowed four runs on six hits with just one punch out.

Add those two appearances to Petty's Major League résumé and you begin to understand why Cincinnati's brass might see the young righty as a reliever and not a starter. In five big-league appearances, Petty's compiled a 10.80 ERA, 8.27 FIP, and a 10.6% strikeout rate.

Those numbers might be a bit misleading. It encompasses a very small sample size of just 16⅔ innings pitched, but the stats are the stats. There's no sugarcoating the fact that Petty's struggled almost every time he's stepped onto a Major League mound.

That said, he also has undeniable raw talent. Petty was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2021 and came to Cincinnati by way of trade in 2022. At the time, he was known for his elite fastball, but since being acquired by the Reds, Petty has seen his repertoire grow to include numerous pitches.

Chase Petty's move to the Reds bullpen was predictable

But Petty's still a work-in-progress and those aren't the types of pitchers you want to rely on to get you 15 or more outs per game. Petty's much better suited to give you two (maybe three) innings per appearance and only see the opponent one time through.

Petty's made 10 Minor League starts this season, and has been the case throughout his career, he's lacked consistency. As a whole, Petty has a 6.17 ERA and 5.28 FIP across 42⅔ innings of work. His 22.6% strike rate and 9.5% walk rate are acceptable, but his profile suggests that those numbers should be better.

Longtime scout Keith Law of The Athletic predicted Petty's future earlier this year. He cited Petty's live arm as a reason to push him into the 'pen. From his perspective, Law believes Petty could let his fastball lead the way, and lean into his secondary stuff as needed.

When fully healthy, the Reds have little use for Petty in the rotation. He'd be sitting behind at least six other pitchers, and maybe more. Petty is in the mold of Connor Phillips — another former starter turned reliever — and if he embraces the role, he could become a fixture on the big-league roster. If he fails to find his footing, he'll be headed back to Louisville within in a week.

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