Terry Francona's bewildering decision vs. Braves exposed the Reds' biggest flaw

The Cincinnati Reds suffered a frustrating loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Terry Francona's questionable decision to go with newly-promoted reliever Yunior Marté to start the sixth inning drew a ton of criticism from the Reds' fanbase, and it reveals an even deeper concern moving forward.

The Reds fell behind 4-0 after the first two innings, but rallied thanks to a pair of solo shots from JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe in the fourth inning. Reds rookie Sal Stewart added an RBI single in the fifth, and Cincinnati was down just 4-3 after heading into the sixth.

Francona lifted Chris Paddack, who allowed four runs on seven hits through five innings, but rather than call upon Sam Moll, Caleb Ferguson, or Tejay Antone, he went with Marté. The hard-throwing right-hander hadn't thrown a pitch in the major leagues since 2024, and it showed almost immediately upon his entrance during the top of the sixth inning.

Marté allowed the first four batters he faced to reach safely. Dom Smith slapped a single to left field, Austin Riley was hit by a pitch, Mike Yastrzemski brought Smith home with an RBI double, and Jorge Mateo's RBI single turned a one-run game into a three-run deficit. Marté struck out Chadwick Tromp before issuing an intentional walk to Ronald Acuña Jr. and was then lifted in favor of Ferguson.

But the damage was done. Ferguson was facing a near impossible situation, and allowed a two-RBI single to Michael Harris II before striking out Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies to end the inning. But the damage was done. The Reds were down just 4-3 before the inning began, and by the time they came up, Cincinnati trailed 8-3.

The Reds bullpen is a major problem moving forward

It's certainly fair to question Francona's decision to go with Marté in the sixth inning. The Reds were off on Thursday and should've had the full compliment of relievers available for Friday's game. Marté was an emergency addition to the Reds roster after Graham Ashcraft landed on the 60-day IL with an acute UCL strain. Cincinnati is also without one of their closer, Emilio Pagán.

Connor Phillips was recently optioned to Triple-A Louisville after failing to command his fastball, and the trio of Zach Maxwell, Luis Mey, and Kyle Nicolas have been unimpressive as well. In other words, the Reds' bullpen is on life support, and Francona doesn't have many other options.

The bigger problem is, there aren't many solutions -- at least not within the organization. Marté was the most experienced reliever at Triple-A, but owned a 5.12 ERA before receiving a promotion. Trevor Kuncl, Anthony Misiewicz, and Lyon Richardson are arguably better options, but none of those players are shutdown relievers.

Nick Krall and Cincinnati's front office may need to step outside their comfort zone and find a trade partner or two before the bullpen costs the Reds another chance at victory.

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