Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Cincinnati Reds had an amazing pitching staff.
Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, Wade Miley, and other talented pitchers were a part of the rotation in the last two years.
The rotation, however, is in shambles right now.
The Reds decided to decline Miley’s $10 million option for 2022, making him a free agent, they traded Gray, and Castillo hasn’t pitched in 2022 due to injury.
Mahle has a 7.01 ERA in the early going, and Bauer, well, he is long gone.
The rotation isn’t the Reds’ only problem, but the team is 3-22 so far: that means nothing is working like it should.
And while comparisons can be tedious, especially between a top unit and the worst team in the league, Codify Baseball gave us an idea about the gap existing between the Reds’ rotation and the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the top teams in MLB.
“So far this year… Dodgers starters: 1.90 ERA. Reds starters: 8.91 ERA,” they tweeted.
So far this year…
Dodgers starters: 1.90 ERA
Reds starters: 8.91 ERA— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 6, 2022
The Reds Rotation Has Been Monumentally Bad
The Reds’ starters allow, essentially, a run per each inning they pitch.
That is unsustainably bad.
Rookies Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo came with much ballyhoo, but the former has a 8.71 ERA and the latter is at 5.52.
They both had promising starts, but hey, it’s not like Reds are setting them up to succeed.
They are young and are going to struggle.
Reiver Sanmartin (13.78 ERA) and Vladimir Gutierrez (8.86 ERA) haven’t been much better.
That leaves Lodolo as the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the rotation.
Castillo should return soon, and Mahle has good bounce-back potential.
Everything else is kind of a mess for Cincinnati.
NEXT: MLB Insider Shares Why Tanking May Backfire For The Reds