Reds-Yankees trade paves the way for Graham Ashcraft to change roles in 2025

Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall has said throughout the offseason that trade talks with other clubs are centering around major league-ready talent, not prospects. Reds fans saw firsthand exactly what Krall was talking about after watching Cincinnati send reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson to the New York Yankees in exchange for Luis Trevino.

Friday's trade gives the Reds a Gold Glove Award-winning catcher to backup Tyler Stephenson, but it also leaves a hole in the bullpen. While Cruz could be unpredictable at times, his splitter was one of the best pitches in all of baseball, and the right-hander was oftentimes a bridge to closer Alexis Díaz.

The Reds roster isn't devoid of options to fill in for Cruz. There's up-and-coming reliever Zach Maxwell whose 100-plus mph heater is expected to play well in the major leagues. Cincinnati also has lefty Sam Moll, veteran Emilio Pagán, and former top prospect Tony Santillan.

Reds-Yankees trade paves the way for Graham Ashcraft to move to the bullpen in 2025

But one Reds pitcher who could greatly benefit from the trade with the Yankees is Graham Ashcraft. The right-hander had his fair share of struggles in 2024 and ended the year on the injured list, but Ashcraft's cutter/ slider combo could be deadly coming out of the Cincinnati bullpen.

Now look, no starter wants to be moved to the bullpen. Starting pitchers make more money, have more notoriety, and they only pitch once every five days. Who wouldn't want to be a starting pitcher? But Ashcraft, who was viewed a longterm solution after his rookie season, has run into trouble the past two seasons. More specifically, Ashcraft has struggled the third time through an opponents batting order.

Last season, Ashcraft saw nearly every metric imaginable take a hit once the opposition got a third look at his stuff. His strikeout rate plummeted while his batting average-against spiked. Ashcraft's 4.11 ERA the first two times through the batting order was tame compared to his 9.56 ERA a third time through.

Graham Ashcraft could be lethal coming out of the Reds bullpen

If every one of the Reds starting pitchers is healthy coming into spring training, Ashcraft is already on the outside of the 2025 Opening Day rotation. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez, Andrew Abbott, and Brady Singer would seem to have the edge at the moment, with Rhett Lowder acting as the next man up.

The absence of Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar will affect the Reds' depth, but Carson Spiers, Lyon Richardson, and Connor Phillips are on the roster as well. There's also Chase Petty and Chase Burns; both of whom are expected to be knocking on the major league door sometime next season. Where does that leave Ashcraft in the hierarchy of starting pitchers?

And while some may think that this gives the Reds the opportunity to shop Ashcraft for an outfielder, that would be unwise. You can never have enough pitching, and Ashcraft has shown the ability to be a quality starter in this league. While his abilities might be better suited for a relief role, Ashcraft could also operate as hybrid pitcher, much like Martinez was last season.

Some combination of Ashcraft, Moll, and Díaz at the backend of the Reds' bullpen would cause massive headaches for the opposition. Though Ashcraft has been working on developing that third offering, sticking to what works (cutter/ slider) could help transform him into an elite relief pitcher.

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