Why swingman Alec Mills might be right man at right time for taxed Cincinnati Reds staff
BALTIMORE — Hunter Greene is the ace on the shelf. Andrew Abbott is the clear ace of the moment. Alexis Diaz is the All-Star-caliber ace of the bullpen.
For all the squishy parts of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff between Abbott’s starts, until Greene’s return in August and before the late innings, all the Reds need is somebody who can do anything, and maybe even a little of everything at times.
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And that might make this week’s new guy, Alec Mills, the ace linchpin of the staff if all goes as planned.
The glue guy
“It’s what we need right now, just to be able to have somebody who can fit right in wherever we need him to,” manager David Bell said.
Mills, 31, last pitched in July before having back surgery and eventually signing with the Reds in May during his recovery and rehab.
“I’m just here to help any way I can,” Mills said. “I kind of got pulled out of a progression, so I’m just doing everything I can to be ready to go.”
Mills, who has pitched 11 minor-league innings across four appearances (three starts), said he felt like his normal self by the time made his most recent, four-inning start for Triple-A Louisville.
He needed just 40 pitches to do it.
And for anyone still doubting whether the Reds actually need a bona fide, experienced swingman to help them through their dire pitching straits right now: Luke Weaver needed the same number of pitches Wednesday night to get through the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles.
“It took me a minute to figure out how to do that role. It’s not easy,” said Mills, who spent 2020 as a starter for the Chicago Cubs’ division winner and as a long-relief, spot-start swingman for their 2021 three-month contender.
“I think I can lean on the experience of doing that to help these guys,” he said. “Every bullpen needs that guy that can go out there and clean up the dirty work and do stuff like that and eat innings for a bullpen when they’re tired. And obviously if the starter has an off day then somebody can be there to pick it up and help everyone out.”
And if the team needs a starter? Mills is 9-13 in 39 career starts with a 4.61 ERA — more than a full point better than the Reds’ second-worst NL rotation ERA.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I think I’ve done it enough, I’m comfortable doing that. Just anything I can do to help.”
Mills, who threw a no-hitter against the Brewers in 2020, could be in play for a start next week when the Reds next need a fifth starter, but that’s more likely to be filled by somebody in the farm system at this point.
Depending on how much he’s able to stretch and how he looks out of the pen, it’s probably just a matter of time before he gets his show at chasing a second career no-hitter.
“That’d be fun,” he said. “Let’s do that again.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds newcomer Alec Mills arrives just in time for staff
