Cincinnati Reds: Raisel Iglesias Wants to Close
The Cincinnati Reds have had quite a few problems in their bullpen. Would making Raisel Iglesias their closer change their fortunes?
Let’s face it. A big part of the reason why the Cincinnati Reds have not had a good season is because of their bullpen. Coming into today’s action, the Reds have the worst bullpen ERA at 5.95. They have the worst FIP at 6.02 and have combined for a -4.1 WAR.
The Reds do have some intriguing arms coming up through the system and if they all don’t stick in the rotation, then some can help the bullpen. I’m sure if they trade guys like Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips at the deadline, they will get some arms back that may be able to help their bullpen either now or down the road.
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One of the arms that was supposed to help the rotation was Cuban born right-hander Raisel Iglesias. He was signed back in 2014 and came up through the system as a starter and started some games this year, posting a 1-1 record in five starts.
Iglesias then had a shoulder issue that cost him around six weeks and ever since has found himself in the bullpen since he returned. Iglesias says he wants to stay in the bullpen and eventually become the teams’ closer.
“My arm feels good right now out of the bullpen. I think I don’t want to go back and be a starter again. I think I’m going to be in the bullpen because my arm feels really, really good right now,” Iglesias said, according to Morillo. “My preparation right now is I’m going to be healthy. I’m going to be back to the rehab. I want to be healthy enough to help my team.”
Per Brooks Baseball, Iglesias has started to average around 96 MPH with his fastball out of the bullpen, compared to 90 MPH as a starter. It’s not uncommon for starters to see an uptick in velocity coming out of the bullpen.
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If the Cincinnati Reds don’t believe that Iglesias’ shoulder can hold up as a starter, they should certainly use him in a relief role. They should give him a chance to close games. You need power stuff out of the bullpen to effectively close games and if Iglesias shows he can handle the role, it’s once less piece the Reds have to worry about getting as they rebuild.