September is about to give the Reds a little roster breathing room, and Cincinnati already has most of the answers lined up.
Edwin Arroyo is in after being promoted to replace the injured Ke'Bryan Hayes, and Graham Ashcraft looks poised to fill the extra bullpen opening if his elbow gets through the last stop on his rehab schedule. That still leaves one more position-player decision for the Reds once the calendar turns, with Leo Balcazar and Juan Brito standing as the most likely options. Both are already on the 40-man roster.
Under the modern September rules, rosters jump from 26 to 28 while pitching staffs are capped at 14. For the Reds, that setup makes the choices a lot cleaner than they are for plenty of other clubs.
Arroyo earned his way back into the picture.
When Cincinnati optioned him on July 30, the move made sense. He had hit .244/.286/.282 with a .568 OPS and no homers in 44 games, so a trip back to Triple-A was the right reset.
He responded the way teams hope a young player will. From August 1 through August 26, Arroyo hit .265/.359/.500 for Louisville, with four doubles, four homers, nine RBI and four steals in 19 games.
He also bounced around the infield, seeing time at second base, shortstop and third, and he did it without committing an error. The bigger question now is how he fits once he’s back next to Elly De La Cruz in a double-play pairing. September should give the Reds time to find out.
The important part is not to waste the opportunity. Arroyo shouldn’t be brought up just to sit around. He needs real starts, real reps and a chance to see whether the game has slowed down for him.
Ashcraft is the other key piece.
He had slipped out of the daily conversation because he’s been on the 60-day IL since late May with a right UCL sprain. Before the injury, he had turned into a real bullpen asset, putting up a 3.33 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27 innings over 26 appearances. The bullpen found a role that fit his power stuff.
His rehab assignment started Tuesday in Louisville, and he worked a scoreless inning with two strikeouts while allowing one hit and one walk. He’s set to pitch again on August 30. If that outing goes well, the path is pretty clear: activate him September 1 and use him as the extra arm.
The Reds are on the outside looking in for an NL Wild Card spot, so September is as much about information as it is about standings. Arroyo gives them a month to evaluate a major infield piece. Ashcraft gives them a chance to see whether one of their best relievers can finish healthy and get back to the late-inning job he had carved out.
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