The Cincinnati Reds are going to have a long season. Our SportsLine projections, for instance, peg them for 63 wins -- fewest in the majors. Yet while the Reds are likely to lose series after series after series in 2017, they could make things interesting in another way -- by eschewing modern bullpen usage.
Manager Bryan Price reportedly has an arrangement in mind that would see him use starters-turned-relievers Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen as multi-inning closers, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Reds manager Bryan Price has talked about it since the middle of last season. He doesn’t want to get “cliché” with his bullpen, he said. And with a pair of young former starters ready to take over the late innings in Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen, the Reds are poised to have a set of alternating, multi-inning closers.
As Buchanan notes, the Reds could in theory have both pitchers top 100 frames -- a workload unseen from Cincinnati relievers since 1999, when Scott Sullivan and Danny Graves averaged 112 innings. Of course, there are challenges inherent in stretching pitchers to that extent -- including whether Iglesias, who has battled arm troubles, will be able to handle the unfamiliar workload. Lorenzen, for his part, was successful in a multi-inning role last year, posting a 149 ERA+ while tossing 50 innings in 35 appearances.
Whatever your thoughts on the arrangement -- and the potential for success with the arrangement -- the Reds have every reason to make the most of their down cycle. People often talk about failing efficiently -- if you’re going to lose, do it cheap. Here’s to failing experimenting -- if you’re going to lose, at least try new things along the way.
