The Reds have seen this before. The last two years in fact. The NL Wild Card race solidifying, the players taking their spots, and the Reds looking up at the nearest one with way too much track to cover to make it happen. The Reds are 4 games behind the Mets, with the same record as the very hot Giants, and trailed by the D-Backs and Cardinals. The Mets losing last night helped them a little. But the Reds are still sifting through a really tough stretch, and have to play the Padres this week. They already dropped 2 to the Mets, and got obliterated by the Dodgers, D-Backs and Cardinals in previous weeks. There's a chance something can get done, but it's flickering.
If it doesn't happen, it's a waste of the best year this young Reds rotation has had yet. Hunter Greene, when healthy, has been absolutely untouchable, and has a 2.59 ERA in 16 starts, capped off by a terrific start against the Mets the other night. Andrew Abbott's all-star season has dipped a bit since the break, but he's still 8-6 with a 2.88 ERA and leads the team in WAR with 4.8. Brady Singer actually leads the team in strikeouts with 145, and has used a fairly strong August to drop his ERA below 4, with a 13-9 record. Nick Lodolo missed time but has produced his best season yet, with a 3.22 ERA and 130 Ks. Nick Martinez, despite some losses, has still shown dominance, and leads the team in IP. And Zack Littell has been a steady fifth, clearly favored due to getting to keep his job over Martinez.
It's all gonna be a waste if this team can't hit their way out of the scrum. Getting Ke'Bryan Hayes and Miguel Andujar has helped, but more was expected from Tyler Stephenson, Austin Hays, Gavin Lux and Jose Trevino, and they've all been 'fine' when they could be really helping this team. Stephenson keeps flirting with greatness but will get hurt at inopportune times or just fail to show up. Elly de la Cruz had a great start that has been bogged down with a lot of missed opportunities. McLain and Steer have once again failed to deliver on what seemed so promising in 2023.
And yes, Miguel Andujar coming over and hitting .362 is a very good thing. You got this guy to be a bench menace, that's absolutely what he's done. He's the only guy on this team with an OPS over 1.000, and that's mostly because he's new. I really wish Andujar was the well-rounded hitter he was in 2018, but he works as a bench bat, DH and power upgrade. But you shouldn't be putting so much on upgrades. The core of de la Cruz, Steer, Friedl and McLain should have worked, and it...sort of hasn't entirely.
I really want the Reds to make it happen this year, but so many opportunities have been blown, and so many interlopers have taken advantage. There is still a chance, but it's gonna take conscious effort and some offensive blowouts to really capitalize on this. Next year this rotation might all be hurt once again. You can't waste this.
Coming Tonight: He came over from Arizona to join the team that cost him a ring. At this rate, there's a chance he fights for that ring after all.
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