Reds mercifully pull the trigger on a bullpen move that had to happen

There's an argument to be made that Connor Phillips is the most talented pitcher on the Cincinnati Reds staff. In terms of pure stuff, the only pitcher who can best Phillips is probably Chase Burns.

But pitching is about more than raw ability, and that's where Phillips falls woefully short. The right-hander entered Saturday's contest against the St. Louis Cardinals sporting a 5.06 ERA and 5.31 FIP. By the time he left the mound after giving up two runs to the Cardinals and sinking the Reds hopes of a comeback, Phillips had just as many strikeouts (28) as walks.

Reds finally send Connor Phillips back to the minors

Before Game 2 of the doubleheader, the Reds made some changes — one of which was long overdue. The Reds optioned Phillips back to Triple-A Louisville, along with fellow right-hander Jose Franco. In an effort to help beef up the 'pen for the second game of the day, Cincinnati recalled Zach Maxwell and activated Caleb Ferguson from the 15-day IL.

The biggest culprit standing in the way of Phillips' success has been been around for years. It's the free passes, and his inability to command the strike zone. A 20.5% walk-rate untenable, and it was finally time for the Reds to do something they probably should've done about a week ago.

Phillips was one of Cincinnati's best relief options earlier this year. While the walks were still an issue, Phillips owned a 1.93 ERA with 14 punch outs through his first 14 appearances of the season. He also recorded his first big-league save on March 30 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But Phillips' season has gone sideways since an appearance on April 22 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The 25-year-old gave manager Terry Francona two innings of work, and allowed one earned run on two hits. Since that time, the floodgates have opened. Over his last 12 appearances, Phillips has allowed 14 runs, walked 14 batters, and has an ERA north of 8.00.

If there was such thing as a three-true outcome pitcher, Phillips could be the poster child. He's either going to strikeout a batter, issue a walk, or give up a home run — which is what he did on Saturday against Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker.

The warning signs have been there, and the Reds finally made the move. Phillips is headed back to Triple-A Louisville and Maxwell gets his second chance with the big-league club. Ferguson was scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on Saturday, but it would seem that the southpaw was deemed ready to return.

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