Cincinnati Reds‘ relievers currently rank as the fifth-worst bullpen in the history of Major League baseball.
Sporting a grisly 6.59 ERA, the Reds’ bullpen has a chance to soon overtake the 1936 Philadelphia Athletics for fourth-worst on the all-time list. That A’s team had a 6.61 ERA over the course of the season.
The 2016 Reds’ bullpen seems unlikely to bear the brand of worst bullpen ever. The Reds may have assembled a bullpen class under Reds’ executive Walt Jocketty that is just as void of talent as the worst bullpen ever, but the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies had a putrid 8.05 ERA.
Not even Jocketty & Company could find more relievers bad enough to challenge that mark.
After coming off back-to-back bullpen losses against the lowly Milwaukee Brewers, the Reds don’t seem to have any immediate answers to curtail the team’s bullpen woes.
Injured starting pitchers could bump the likes of current rotation starters Dan Straily and Alfredo Simon to the bullpen but not just yet. The Reds’ top three starting pitchers — Homer Bailey, Raisel Iglesias and Anthony DeSclafani — all seem unlikely to join the Reds from the DL until June.
Meanwhile, the Reds seem content to trot the likes of Caleb Cotham to the mound for a ritual of cruel and unusual punishment for Reds’ fans.
Cotham is the only current major leaguer acquired in the astonishingly botched timing of the Reds’ trade of one of the most dominating closers in the history of baseball in Aroldis Chapman.
Cotham surrendered an extra-innings grand slam in the Reds’ loss two nights ago to the Brewers for good measure.
The 2016 Reds may not have the likes of Hap Collard and Snipe Hansen from that Phillies’ 1930 worst bullpen ever, but with the likes of Cotham and the rest of the relievers, the Reds’ bullpen is still historically bad.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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