Reds new coach could spark reunion with former Pirates arm Cincinnati quietly needs

If the Cincinnati Reds are serious about cleaning up the late innings, the move that ends up mattering most this winter might not be a player signing at all. After the Pittsburgh Pirates parted ways with longtime pitching coach Oscar Marin, the Reds scooped him up to help run their bullpen — a quiet hire with a chance to pay loud dividends. Cincinnati badly needs another trusted left-handed reliever, and Marin walks in the door with a built-in connection to one who makes a lot of sense for this roster.

That reliever is Tim Mayza, a name that won’t light up the hot stove headlines but should light up the Reds’ front office group chat. Mayza doesn’t profile as a splashy “closer of the future” signing; he profiles as something arguably more important for a club trying to keep pace in a ruthless NL Central: a battle-tested, left-handed innings absorber with postseason pelts, bounce-back potential, and a coach in-house who already knows how to deploy him.

Oscar Marin hire gives Reds a clear path to Tim Mayza reunion

The Reds have Sam Moll, and that’s about it. The need is real. As currently constructed, the Reds don’t have that “hand the ball to the lefty and exhale” option late in games, just a single southpaw asked to cover a lot of different fires. It’s a dangerous way to live in a division featuring left-handed thumpers and switch-hitters who do damage from that side of the plate.

A team with playoff aspirations can’t lean exclusively on matchup gymnastics and hope right-handers neutralize everyone. They need another southpaw Marin trusts, and Mayza checks that box before he even walks into the building.

Mayza’s path to becoming that kind of arm wasn’t linear. Back in September 2019, his career nearly derailed when he tore his UCL and had to undergo Tommy John surgery, wiping out his 2020 season entirely. For a reliever, that kind of setback can be a permanent fork in the road.

Instead, Mayza fought through the rehab and returned as a more polished, more efficient version of himself — culminating in a career-best run with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, when he carved hitters up to the tune of a 1.52 ERA and looked like one of the filthiest left-handed relievers in the American League.

The ride since then has been bumpy but instructive. A rough start to 2024 in Toronto led to a DFA and a fresh look with the New York Yankees, where he ended up pitching on the sport’s biggest stage in the 2024 World Series. In February 2025, he signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that’s where he crossed paths with Oscar Marin, who was in his sixth season as the organization’s pitching coach.

When the Pirates moved on and the Phillies claimed Mayza on waivers that September, it only added to his “seen it all” résumé: different leagues, different ballparks, high-leverage Octobers, and clubs in various stages of contention.

Strip it down to the numbers and the appeal is obvious. Through the end of the 2025 season, Mayza owns a 20–9 record, a 3.87 ERA, and 319 strikeouts across his MLB career. That’s not the stat line of a lottery ticket; that’s the profile of a guy who, in the right environment, can stabilize a bullpen and carry meaningful leverage. Marin has already had that window into what Mayza looks like in side sessions, in game planning, in the grind of a long season. For a front office trying to reduce variance in the late innings, that built-in familiarity is gold.

That’s why Marin’s arrival in Cincinnati is more than just a coaching staff note — it’s a possible signpost. The splashy moves will grab the headlines, but if the Reds are smart, one of their smartest calls this winter might be reconnecting Marin with a former Pirates arm Cincinnati quietly needs.