Blackburn column: Reds GM facing tough call

Relevant baseball in late June is sure a nice change of pace.

If you're a Reds fan, you've undoubtedly relished in the past few months. A 12-game winning streak notwithstanding, David Bell's bunch has been a thrill-a-minute adventure since mid-April.

Twenty-seven of their 41 wins entering Tuesday's game at Baltimore involved comebacks. Their 32 one-run games are eight more than anyone else in the National League and trails only Cleveland for the most in MLB — 17 have resulted in wins. Every feel-good term that comes to mind — tough, gritty and resilient, to name a few — has been used to describe their collective disposition.

Several of those wins have come after the seventh inning. Amazingly, the team has just one loss after taking the lead into the eighth, thanks largely to the lockdown efforts from closer Alexis Diaz.

A bullpen that took six losses in a 7-15 start morphed into one of the league's most effective during May and June. Diaz still hasn't blown a save despite 34 appearances; setup men Buck Farmer, Ian Gibaut and Lucas Sims are on pace for more than 70 innings each and have 11 wins. They're the primary reason, this side of guys named McClain and Elly, that the team is 33-23 since April 24.

There are reasons this was needed, of course. Necessity is often the brewery for ingenuity, and manager Bell has been forced to tinker more than the neighborhood lawn mower mechanic due to an abysmal rotation.

Second-year starting pitchers Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft were viewed as potential anchors that kept the teams in games, with veteran Luke Weaver, converted reliever Luis Cessa and rookie left-hander Brandon Williamson set to fight for the final two spots.

Those plans have blown up like Saigon.

Greene has an ERA less than 4.00 from that bunch, and he's currently in his second IL stint due to a hip ailment. Lodolo's promising start was thwarted by a lower leg stress reaction that figures to have him out until August, and that's being an optimist. He allowed 20 earned runs in his last four starts, so it doesn't take a medical degree to see he was affected by the injury.

Ashcraft has been healthy aside from a comebacker taken off the leg that cost him a start last week. His return was of the chuck and duck variety — 10 hits and six earned runs allowed in four innings in a 7-6 loss on Saturday to the Braves. It snapped the 12-game streak.

We could go on, but reading about Weaver's 6.84 ERA and Cessa being designated for assignment would likely cause blindness.

Injuries no doubt have been the root of these rotational issues. Ben Lively, with a respectable 4.11 ERA in nine appearances, including seven starts, joined the IL crew on Saturday. He pitched at least 5 2/3 innings in six of his seven starts. Four resulted in wins.

At least Andrew Abbott has been as advertised. The 24-year-old rookie lefty, which lit up the minors, has allowed three runs in four starts. His start on Tuesday was his most important to date, with the team on a three-game losing skid.

Granted, this team wasn't supposed to be 41-38 nearing the midway point. This was viewed as a bridge year for the kids by almost everyone not inside the Reds' clubhouse, but the fast-maturing lineup and suddenly reliable back end of the reliever corps decided to alter the plans.

That has left GM Nick Krall with a difficult navigation process.

He's got an offensive team with a gritty disposition with an approach that travels, from hard-nosed Pittsburgher T.J. Friedl to key reserves Kevin Newman and Stuart Fairchild. They kill opponents with pokes, stabs and paper cuts, until it's time to drive the stake to the heart.

The additions of future stars Matt McClain and Elly de la Cruz and renewed health of Votto have caused a numbers quandary with the 40-man roster that hasn't been seen in decades, which anyone would consider a welcomed problem.

Fairchild, able to play three outfield spots, wouldn't have been demoted to Triple-A after a .735 OPS with the Reds in a normal year, nor would veteran outfielder Wil Myers have been designated for assignment making $6 million. It speaks to the depth on hand.

Will Benson couldn't hit a scratch-off ticket in April, but he's batting .346 in his last 21 games. He still starts sparingly because of the consistent contributions of regulars Friedl and Jake Fraley, and the move of steady rookie Spencer Steer to left field. Benson would be a mainstay on many Reds teams of late.

There are few reasons to believe this offense will hit a collective roadblock. Six regulars — eight counting Elly and Votto — have OPS+ ratings of more than 100, which is considered league average. Their approaches insist this is more than coincidental.

This team couldn't scare the neighbor kids out of the yard for the better part of 2022, when Steer, Fairchild and Fraley were among those getting their feet wet. There were golden retrievers with more intimidation tactics as a group. Now they're as respected of an offense as any in the NL, this side of Cobb County, Georgia.

Three days after its biggest win of the season, an 11-10 comeback conquest of those mighty Braves before a packed house at Great American Ball Park, the contention question still isn't truly answered. It might be a while before it is.

Parched Reds fans thirsty for a run at a championship are finally seeing the beer taps in sight, but they aren't getting a sip as things currently stand with the rotation. Only renewed health and improvement will allow for that, thanks to Krall and Co.'s all-eggs-in-one-basket approach to the rotation last offseason.

Now Krall must decide if it's worth fixing now, or whether waiting until the winter is a more prudent plan. The cost for immediate improvement won't be a cheap ask, especially with so many teams needing arms. The Reds have plenty of enticing trade pieces, but there should be a hard line of demarcation.

It's what Krall is paid to decide. Many eyes will be watching, namely a legion of fans with Elly Fever eager for a pennant drive.

I don't envy his position.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Blackburn column: Reds GM Nick Krall facing tough call