LOS ANGELES – For the first time in David Bell’s four seasons as manager, the Cincinnati Reds are using an opener as a pitching strategy.
Luis Cessa will start Thursday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers with previously scheduled starter Reiver Sanmartin expected to follow Cessa out of the bullpen at some point. Cessa, who made 19 starts with the New York Yankees, hasn’t thrown more than 35 pitches in an outing since the start of spring training, so he’s limited to a maximum of three innings.
“We’ll have a pretty rested bullpen behind Cessa,” Bell said. “He was the right guy to do it. He’s pitched in a lot of different situations and roles. There was no hesitation there.”
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The Reds didn’t finalize their decision to use an opener until after Wednesday’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Bell said he wouldn’t have held Cessa from pitching if there was a situation to use him in the 7-3 loss.
Bell always maintained an open mind toward openers since it became more popular around the league in 2019. The Tampa Bay Rays are the team most associated with the strategy. Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson employed it during the 2018 playoffs with lefty Wade Miley facing only one batter in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
“We’ve talked about it a lot, but we never did it,” Bell said. “We had guys in the past that only started and had a long track record of success as starters. There were a few times we got close to doing it, but such a strength of our team too, we just never really messed with it. With some of the guys we have now, having done multiple roles, it’s just easier this time.”
The three-batter minimum rule means the right-handed Cessa will face the top of the Dodgers lineup, which was Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner in their first five games. Using Cessa won’t give the Reds a platoon advantage, but the strategy means Sanmartin, a soft-tossing lefty, won’t have to face the top of the lineup as often.
Sanmartin, 25, has made only three Major League starts, but he’s been tougher against left-handed hitters throughout his minor-league career. In two MLB starts against the Pirates and one against Atlanta, lefties are batting .182 against Sanmartin while righties have a .375 batting average against him.
“To be able to get Cess, who has been pitching really well, maybe up to one time around the order, pick the right spot to bring in – if it is Reiver, we can find the right spot of their lineup to bring him in and then let him pitch,” Bell said. “Let him go as deep as he can. We have a pretty rested bullpen, a lot of right-handed relievers behind Reiver.”
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The Reds will be without Cessa in the back of their bullpen for at least one game, but they have Tony Santillan, Art Warren, Hunter Strickland and Justin Wilson to cover the late innings.
SLOW START? The Reds have the fourth-lowest batting average (.198), the fourth-lowest on-base percentage (.268) and the sixth-lowest slugging percentage (.318) in the Majors through the first week of the season.
Tommy Pham, who missed Wednesday’s game because of a left hand injury, is hitless in his first 15 at-bats. Aristides Aquino has nine strikeouts in 13 at-bats. Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel both have two hits in 17 at-bats.
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Tyler Naquin and Kyle Farmer are the only Reds batters with more than five hits.
“It’s not even early yet,” Bell said. “A start is like the first month or two. We feel great about it. We’ve gone up against really good pitching. We liked how we’ve come back. It’s really not fair to really think about that yet.”
REHAB OUTINGS: Left-handed starter Mike Minor didn’t pitch in any spring training games and he had a rough outing to begin his rehab assignment at Double-A Chattanooga.
Minor allowed six runs on five hits (two homers) and a walk in 1 2/3 innings while striking out one. He threw 45 pitches, 23 strikes.
The Reds hope Minor will be ready to return to the Majors before the end of April. He was delayed in spring training because of a sore shoulder, so he’s building his innings back up.
Reds reliever Lucas Sims, who could return as early as April 22 when the Reds return to Cincinnati for their next homestand, allowed a homer in his first outing on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville. Sims threw 12 pitches, striking out one batter.
YOUTUBE GAME: The Reds already had games scheduled to be broadcasted on Bally Sports Ohio, ESPN, AppleTV+, Peacock and FOX this year, and now YouTube is back in the mix.
YouTube will exclusively broadcast the Reds’ home game against Milwaukee on Wednesday, May 11 at 12:35 p.m. Scott Braun is scheduled to be the play-by-play announcer and former Reds player Yonder Alonso will be the color commentator. MLB Network’s Siera Santos will host a 30-minute pregame show.
REDS SCOUT PASSES: Reds scouting supervisor Jeff Brookens died Wednesday in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
Brookens was honored last offseason as MLB’s East Coast Scout of the Year. He spent nearly 18 years in the Reds’ organization and signed several Major Leaguers including Devin Mesoraco and Chris Heisey, along with top Reds prospects Austin Hendrick and Andrew Abbott.
Known as “Brookie,” he was named the Reds’ Barton Scout of the Year in 2020 and he was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Scout Association’s Scout of the Year in 2011. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame and the Mid-Atlantic Scouts Association Hall of Fame.
Brookens was also a football and basketball referee for more than three decades.
