Rhett Lowder’s new spot in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen may be the best thing for him right now.
With Hunter Greene back, the Reds had a rotation crunch on their hands. Rather than stretch to a six-man setup and put even more pressure on a bullpen that has already been working hard, Cincinnati had to make a move. Lowder was the one shifted into relief.
The first look was uneven. Greene’s return on July 4 didn’t go smoothly - he lasted just 3⅓ innings - but Lowder helped the Reds survive it by covering three scoreless frames.
Even so, it wasn’t spotless. The 24-year-old gave up plenty of traffic, allowing three walks and two hits.
His second outing out of the bullpen came Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, and this one looked more encouraging. Lowder handled the eighth and ninth innings, giving up only a solo homer to Kyle Schwarber while striking out two of the 10 batters he faced. Cincinnati went on to win 11-5.
Now the bigger question is what this means for the rest of the season and beyond.
There will always be people who dislike the idea of taking a young starter and moving him to relief. That reaction usually comes with the usual warnings about how these experiments have gone before. But Lowder’s situation is different.
He hasn’t pitched much lately, and 2025 has already turned into a lost season because of injury. The Reds also have to be careful with his workload and his right arm after a shoulder injury cost him time again this year.
Before the setbacks piled up, Lowder opened the season well, posting a 3.18 ERA in the first month. Since May 1, though, he has a 7.85 ERA as a starter. A bullpen stint could help in two ways: it trims his innings and gives him a different kind of mental reset.
The Reds are still figuring out exactly how they want to use him in relief. Long-man work is in play, but so are higher-leverage innings.
And this doesn’t sound like a permanent switch. The idea is that facing different situations - including pressure spots - might help Lowder learn how to pitch out of trouble more effectively when he’s back in the rotation.
For now, Cincinnati believes in the talent. Lowder’s presence in the bullpen can help patch a shaky relief corps while the team tries to get back into the race.
What happens next is less clear. The most likely path is that the Reds decide the climb is too steep and become deadline sellers. Even if they don’t, there’s still a case for moving on from Brady Singer since he’ll be gone after the season anyway, which would open the door for Lowder to return to the rotation.
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