GOODYEAR, Ariz. \u2014 After reliever Caleb Ferguson signed with the Cincinnati Reds in December, he got a call from manager Terry Francona. Ferguson said that Francona told him a need on the roster in 2025 was a left-handed specialist like Ferguson, and how excited Francona was to have him on the roster for 2026. <\/p>\n
Ferguson\u2019s Reds debut will now have to wait as he\u2019ll open the season on the injured list with an oblique injury. He\u2019ll get a follow up MRI at the end of the month in Cincinnati. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe hope is that it\u2019s not going to be like we\u2019ve seen obliques,\u201d Francona said. \u201cMaybe a couple of weeks. He has to heal the way it heals.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s good news that Ferguson seems to have avoided a major injury, the Reds will have to open the season with that familiar need on the initial roster.<\/p>\n
Last season, Ferguson held left-handed batters to the eighth-best OPS in MLB (.465) among big league relievers who pitched in at least 50 games. The Reds will have to replace Ferguson by committee in the short term. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not always one-for-one,\u201d Francona said. <\/p>\n
The first name that comes to mind is right-hander Graham Ashcraft, whose cutter actually makes him very effective versus opposite-handed hitters. All spring, Francona has described Ashcraft as a reliever who will receive high-leverage innings. Ashcraft was the Reds\u2019 primary seventh-inning reliever for most of the 2025 season. Ferguson could have recorded some of those huge outs if the Reds were facing a pocket of left-handed hitters late in a game, before handing the ball to Tony Santillan and Emilio Pag\u00e1n for the eighth and ninth innings. Without Ferguson, Ashcraft is expected to receive additional high-leverage opportunities against left-handed hitters. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Ashcraft said. \u201cI want them to know that I can take the ball in any situation. That was the role that landed upon me last year, and I took it and ran with it. I want them to know that I\u2019m going to fill (the zone) up and do whatever they need me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francona said that by Ashcraft\u2019s own admission, the 28-year-old has had an inconsistent spring. He\u2019s working on throwing his fastball inside to righties, and Francona said that he\u2019s glad Ashcraft is doing that. <\/p>\n
There was a day where Ashcraft couldn\u2019t land his breaking ball and a day where his fastball command was off, but it\u2019s not a concern for Francona to see a pitcher he\u2019s confident will have success rounding into form in spring. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Pag\u00e1n, Santillan and Ashcraft) are going to carry a big load,\u201d Francona said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure we want them on Feb. 20 to be locked in. We have Tony and Pagan and Ashcraft. We just want to see them pitch with health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashcraft is physically throwing the ball well, and he made a few tweaks recently to clean up his mechanics. He feels like they\u2019ve been successful. <\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping the front side in and keeping my arm in tight and keeping my elbow along my side,\u201d Ashcraft said. \u201cJust that much makes a difference for me getting through the ball versus getting around the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
When those mechanics are locked in, he\u2019s able to get his fastball to get more swing and miss at the top of the strike zone and able to spin his breaking ball more effectively. <\/p>\n
Without Ferguson available, the most experienced lefty in the Reds\u2019 bullpen is Brock Burke. The Reds acquired him in the Gavin Lux trade, and Burke has been a durable and reliable middle reliever for the last two seasons (in 2022, he was also one of the best relievers in the game). <\/p>\n
Burke hasn\u2019t been used a ton during his career specifically as a matchup lefty. He\u2019s a former starting pitcher with tools to get both lefties and righties out. His left-right splits have been pretty close together during his career, which is something he takes pride in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I can get either of them out,\u201d Burke said. \u201cIf it\u2019s a lefty, I\u2019ll face lefties. If they put a righty in, I\u2019m good with that too. No matter what side they go to, you try to make them uncomfortable. With lefties, it can be very uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against left-handed hitters, he leans on his sinker and uses his slider off of that. Against righties, Burke uses an effective changeup. He views his adaptability and his ability to play the matchups as a strength. <\/p>\n
Righty Pierce Johnson and his mighty curveball will be a notable part of the Reds\u2019 bullpen plan in 2026. Aside from Pag\u00e1n, Johnson\u2019s $6.5 million salary is the next-most that Nick Krall has given to a relief pitcher in free agency since Krall became the front office\u2019s lead decision maker in 2020. The Reds targeted Johnson in free agency and valued his setup ability, and he can also fill some of the role that Scott Barlow had last season as an uber-durable, always available and reliable relief option. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been really pleased with Pierce Johnson,\u201d Francona said. \u201cWe think he\u2019s really going to help a ton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind Pag\u00e1n, Santillan, Ashcraft, Johnson and Burke, there\u2019s competition for the final three bullpen spots that includes Connor Phillips, Sam Moll, Kyle Nicolas, Zach Maxwell, Luis Mey, Lyon Richardson, Hagen Danner, Tejay Antone and Yunior Marte. <\/p>\n
Aside from Ferguson, the left-on-left reliever with the highest upside is Sam Moll. When he\u2019s healthy and when he\u2019s rolling, Moll has been able to get elite hitters out at an impressive rate. But his inconsistency and shoulder issue led to him spending most of last year in Triple-A. Moll will be one of the most interesting guys to watch in camp the rest of the way. <\/p>\n
The most interesting in the bullpen could be Connor Phillips, who\u2019s competing for one of those spots. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a really good job last year toward the end of last season,\u201d Francona said. \u201cYou\u2019d love for a kid like that to come in and just blow you away. It\u2019s been inconsistent. Saying that, his stuff is very good. We\u2019re just not ready to name guys that are on our team yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last September, Phillips was pitching as well as anyone on the team and was playing a pivotal role in huge wins. He landed high-leverage opportunities and blew hitters away with his standout stuff. <\/p>\n
Ideally, Phillips has a strong conclusion to camp and works his way into a high-leverage role again in April. His upside is high, and he has the talent to be one of the Reds\u2019 best relievers in 2026. To get there, he has to fill the strike zone up more consistently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (overall) results are not what I want this spring, but underlying things are actually really positive for me,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cMy fastball strike percentage has been really good. If that\u2019s good, I think I\u2019m in a really good spot. The sweeper is always going to be there. If I have the fastball and can work the bottom and top of the zone, I think I\u2019m going to be really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phillips has the upside to rack up strikeouts against both left and right-handed hitters. If he gets on a roll early in the season, he\u2019d be an option for a few situations that the Reds could have given to a healthy Ferguson. Phillips pitched in some of those situations last year and had success against both left and right-handed hitters. <\/p>\n
He says the key is being able to command his fastball in specific situations at the bottom of the strike zone. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s using entire zone whenever I want,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cPeople are going to take that (low) pitch. It sets up swing and miss slider. That\u2019s when I really start to excel, having both levels of the fastball and the slider that plays off of the fastball down.\u201d<\/p>\n
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