The Cincinnati Reds bullpen ranked 17th in the league in ERA (4.09) in 2024, making them slightly below league average. With a good amount of bullpen additions in the offseason, there’s a chance the reliever core has become better in comparison to those of last year.
Breaking Down the New Members of the Reds Bullpen
Taylor Rogers
The acquisition of Rogers came at a cheap price tag, especially considering he has quietly been one of the better relievers in MLB for nearly a decade now. The Reds got him from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league right-hander Braxton Roxby, who has a career 4.30 ERA in the minors.
Since debuting in 2016, Taylor Rogers has tossed 490 2/3 innings with a 3.34 ERA. He’s coming off his most successful season in terms of run prevention in 2024, with a career-best 2.40 ERA in 60 innings pitched in the Bay Area. He has shown the ability to close games as well, registering 30 saves in 2019 and 31 saves in 2022. He will likely not have to do so in Cincy, as Alexis Díaz will likely retain that role in 2025. However, the reliever position is volatile and any form of struggle by Díaz may result in Rogers filling in at the closer role sometime in the season.
Reds Spring Training Conversation @WLWT: Taylor Rogers
From a family of four generations of fire fighters, last season Taylor & his identical twin Tyler were the fourth set of brothers to be MLB teammates.
As a kid spent a summer in Cincy watching Reds games. Full circle. pic.twitter.com/VKb2IvnmKc
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) February 18, 2025
Rogers has been a consistent and reliable arm out of the bullpen for his entire career, as he has thrown over 50 innings in every single season of his career (20 IP in the 60-game COVID season of 2020).
Cincinnati shouldn’t expect a repeat of his 2.40 ERA from 2024, as moving from the cavernous Oracle Park in San Francisco to the hitter-friendly confines of Great American Ball Park will inflate his numbers a bit. His 3.75 FIP also shows signs of him outperforming his peripherals in 2024, as it was a whole run higher than his ERA. His 3.29 xERA in 2024 is probably more of what Reds fans can expect out of Rogers in this upcoming campaign, which is still a fantastic season given the workload he is capable of out of the bullpen.
Albert Abreu
The former New York Yankees reliever who spent the 2024 seasons dicing up hitters in Japan has signed with the Reds and will most likely head to Triple-A Louisville’s bullpen to begin the year.
RHP Albert Abreu also joined the #Reds on a minor league deal last week. Abreu spent the 2024 season pitching in Japan. Here’s some of his strikeouts from the 2023 season.
[
MLB] pic.twitter.com/qroN5G7uEm
— Gingersaurus Rex (@HeyGingersaurus) February 2, 2025
The 29-year-old posted a 2.39 ERA in 52 appearances for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2024, where he racked up 28 saves. Most impressively, he only allowed one home run all season, which as previously mentioned, would be a huge benefit due to pitching in Great American Ball Park.
In his most recent big league workload back in 2023, he struggled heavily with control, walking 13.1% of batters faced (5th percentile). He holds a career 4.58 ERA in 135 2/3 total innings and would serve as more of a project for the pitching staff to tweak and figure out. The best-case scenario is that Abreu can be a decent middle reliever to eat up some innings.
Scott Barlow
In the past four seasons split between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, the newly acquired Barlow has thrown 74 1/3, 74 1/3, 68, and 55 innings, respectively. The 32-year-old right-hander has quietly been one of the most reliable relievers in the league, consistently making 60-plus appearances per year.
Welcome to Reds Country, Scott Barlow
The #Reds today signed RHP Scott Barlow to a one-year Major League contract through the 2025 season, with a club option for 2026. Additionally, RHP Julian Aguiar (right elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list. pic.twitter.com/17c3ubVCBM
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) February 13, 2025
As far as results in those innings, he has struggled as of late, posting a 4.37 and 4.17 ERA in the past two seasons. Looking at his 2024 Baseball Savant page, however, he excelled in many different categories.
86.2 MPH avg exit velocity – (95th percentile)
33.6 Whiff% – (94th percentile)
28.3 K% – (84th percentile)
5.8 Barrel% – (82nd percentile)
32.6 Hard-Hit% – (92nd percentile)
47.8 GB% – (78th percentile)
Judging by the metrics, it is confusing to see how his xERA was still at 4.17. This can be explained by pretty much the only thing Barlow struggled with in 2024, which was his sky-high 12.9 BB% (3rd percentile).
With runners on base, Barlow surrendered 22 earned runs in 26 1/3 of those innings. With the bases empty, however, Barlow surrendered just four earned runs in 28 1/3 innings. The only thing holding him back is his free passes, which can be proven by his 2022 season. That year, Barlow had a career-best 2.18 ERA in 74 1/3 innings. His metrics from that year were essentially identical to 2024 aside from his walk rate, which stood at 7.6 BB%.
If the Reds can figure out his command issues, they will have a reliable and consistent piece in the back end of their bullpen.
How Can the Bullpen Perform in 2025?
The Reds bullpen was not bad last season, but it certainly wasn’t the best. With the addition of a high-leverage reliever in Taylor Rogers, a possible high-leverage reliever in Scott Barlow, and a wild card in Albert Abreu who has the ability to be good, the 2025 Reds bullpen could be much more potent than before.
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