GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Last Thursday, Cincinnati Reds reliever Tony Santillan was talking with catcher Jose Trevino during a mound visit.
Santillan told his catcher, “I don’t think I’m going to get another out. This is over. They need to come get me. I can’t throw a strike.”
Santillan’s final line that day against the Dodgers was one hit (a home run by Santiago Espinal), three walks and three runs.
“I was all over the place,” Santillan said. “Everything felt not normal. I didn’t know how to fix it in that moment. Everything spiraled. It’s spring. But I was doing what I’d normally tell myself to adjust and it wasn’t working. The ball was coming out of my hand every time. My tempo was completely off.”
Santillan wasn’t much longer for that game. When he was back in the dugout, pitching coach Derek Johnson told Santillan that his arm slot/hand looked a bit off, and that they’d circle back the next day to come up with a plan of attack.
They talked. Santillan made a small tweak with his posture. And then in his next spring training outing, on Sunday against the Diamondbacks, he struck out the side in a scoreless inning against the Diamondbacks.
“I fixed it!” Santillan said in the clubhouse the next day.
For relievers, spring training is a fickle thing.
“Tony Santillan yesterday threw the ball really well,” Terry Francona said. “OK, we’re thrilled. I could give a (darn) what his ERA is. All I care about is that when he breaks camp, he feels good.”
That spring training evaluation and the role of spring training is different for every pitcher. Just ask Santillan. He has had camps where he was a prospect and a non-roster invitee, camps where he was out to prove that he should be a late-game relievers, camps where he was competing to make the club and one very memorable camp (2024) where he looked like he was treating every game like Game 7 of the World Series because of what he felt like he had to prove at that stage of his career.
This spring training is a new type of experience for him.
“It’s the first spring where I’ve actually had the luxury of knowing I can come into spring and actually use it as a ramp up for the season,” Santillan said. “What I’ve been always been used to is coming in and on the first day being pedal to the medal where I’ve got to make some impressions and fight for a spot on the team. This is the first time I don’t have to have that. They’ve made that clear.”
Santillan pitched in 80 games last year. The Reds slow played him a bit into the Cactus League schedule this year, giving him a bit of extra time to get his feet wet.
“The day that matters is Opening Day,” Santillan said. “It’s been an adjustment for me. Not having everything where I want to have it right away. I’m trusting the process. I’m better with each outing. Getting into a groove.”
It’s a similar type of spring for closer Emilio Pagán, who also had a slower ramp-up into Cactus League action this year.
“The reality is you’re getting ready for a season,” Pagán said. “Keeping that as the main focus is the most important thing. As far as how I approach a bullpen or an inning, I’m still trying to go dominate. I don’t ever want to use a crutch of working on things and that’s why you don’t put up a zero. That’s not true. I’m trying to put up a zero no matter what. But, while maintaining the mindset of coming out of here healthy with the body feeling good in a good spot for 162 and behind. Keeping that the main focus is the main thing.”
When he’s on, Pagán has one of the most effective fastballs in the game. He’s able to generate a “rising” spin effect with the extension that he generates off of the mound.
Getting stretched out means different things for different pitchers. In Pagán’s case, it looks like he’s reaching back further and further and doing a better and better job of striding to the plate with each bullpen and each outing. He looks like he’s literally getting stretched out.
Last year, Emilio Pagán’s average fastball was 95.8 mph. Against the Diamondbacks yesterday, his average fastball was 93.4 mph.
He asked about it, and then learned that his fastball velocity is actually up 1.5 mph from where it was last year.
“I’m ahead of where I have been,” Pagán said. “Right now, make sure delivery is in a good spot, body is recovering well so I can throw as much as possible,” Pagán said. “I’m focusing on those types of things.”
Adrenaline is a very real thing, and the expectation is that Pagán’s velocity will be just fine on Opening Day when the games count.
“As long as you’re continuing to take steps forward to the point where you’re ready to compete on Opening Day, that’s what spring is for,” Pagán said.
***
While Pagán and Santillan have the luxury of ramping up this spring, the pitchers competing for spots are being evaluated in a different fashion. Results aren’t the end-all be-all, but the Reds are looking for development and progress as they make their decisions about the bullpen.
“It’s different for the guys competing,” Francona said. “We tell them that in the first meeting. I don’t know how else to do it. You try to not base too much on spring training because you can make some bad mistakes, but you’re probably looking for different things from different people.”
The Reds’ bullpen hasn’t thrown enough strikes as a whole this spring. Also, the group of rookies competing for spots hasn’t had a pitcher or two really shine through yet with the type of breakout spring that you’d hope for.
Connor Phillips, Zach Maxwell, Luis Mey and Lyon Richardson have some of the most gifted arms in the organization. New addition Kyle Nicolas, away at the World Baseball Classic with Team Italy, is another reliever with standout velocity who needs to develop his command. That group will be one of the most interesting to watch on the team down the stretch in spring training.
Copyright 2026 WXIX. All rights reserved.