Reds' Nick Krall gets creative to address team's outfield, bullpen needs

New York Times

3 days ago

The Cincinnati Reds bookended their 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday with a pair of trades, acquiring former Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the game and right-handed starter Zack Littell from the Tampa Bay Rays after the game.
For a team that was in search of an outfield bat and bullpen help, it might sound odd that the team added an infielder and a starter, but both moves had ripple effects that fill the outfield and bullpen. Hayes moves third baseman Noelvi Marte to the outfield, and Littell moves Wednesday's Reds starter, Nick Martinez, to the bullpen in a swingman role.
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'We looked at the relief market where we could add to the bullpen, and this was the best of both worlds where we got to add starting depth and add to the bullpen by putting Martinez there,' said Nick Krall, the Reds' president of baseball operations.
The Reds sent 21-year-old left-hander Adam Serwinowski and 28-year-old right-hander Brian Van Belle to the Rays in exchange for Littell. The Reds had acquired Van Belle from the Boston Red Sox last month. The Rays traded Serwinowski to the Dodgers. Los Angeles had asked for Serwinowski, who was 1-7 with a 4.84 ERA at High-A Dayton this year, in the Gavin Lux deal last offseason but was rebuffed.
Krall said he broached the subject of Martinez moving to the bullpen with him before his start against the Dodgers on Wednesday and then again after Martinez allowed just two runs on four hits over six innings in the team's victory over the Dodgers.
'He's one of the best teammates you could ever be around,' Krall said of Martinez. 'He just wants to do whatever is best for the team.'
A quality six innings from Nick Martinez! pic.twitter.com/lnOUK9ulhh
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 31, 2025
It might sound like a cliche, but Martinez has shown he's willing to back up those words with actions. Even though he's the team's highest-paid player after accepting a $21.05 million qualifying offer last offseason, Martinez has twice pitched out of the bullpen this season. A year ago, he started the season in the rotation, moved to the bullpen and then returned to the rotation for the last two months of the season.
Martinez was 5-2 with a 1.86 ERA over 26 appearances and 53 1/3 innings last season out of the bullpen and 5-5 with a 3.84 ERA as a starter, but he was 5-2 with a 3.24 ERA over 11 starts after being moved back to the rotation. After Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, he's 9-9 with a 4.61 ERA. He has been perfect in his two relief appearances, spanning three innings.
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The Reds recently found out that starter Carson Spiers will require elbow surgery and be lost for the year, so adding starting depth was important for a team that fell out of contention in 2023 in part because it didn't have enough starting depth. In 2021, the Reds were in the playoff hunt until the last weekend, going into game No. 158 needing a win to stay alive. For that game, the team's starter, Riley O'Brien, was making his big-league debut.
With Littell, the Reds still have Martinez, who can go back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen, and then can add another reliever when the rosters expand in September, giving them more options.
The Reds should welcome back Opening Day starter Hunter Greene sometime in August. Greene made his first Triple-A rehab appearance Tuesday and is scheduled to pitch again Sunday. When Greene returns, rookie Chase Burns will likely go to the bullpen, in part to help keep his innings down.
Burns, the No. 2 pick in last year's MLB Draft, has thrown 93 1/3 innings between the majors and minors this year after throwing 100 at Wake Forest last season. Burns started Monday against the Dodgers and took the loss but finished with 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Burns is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves at Bristol Motor Speedway in his home state of Tennessee.
'We're going to work through his innings and see where they all stack up,' Krall said. 'The goal is for him to end the season playing, not getting shut down.'
Littell, 29, threw six shutout innings for the Rays against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, allowing just two hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Littell is 8-8 with a 3.58 ERA in 22 starts this season. He had his worst start since April on Friday at Great American Ball Park against Martinez and the Reds.
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In the series opener, the Reds tagged him for five earned runs on 10 hits, including two home runs, one by TJ Friedl and the other from Tyler Stephenson, one of his new catchers with the Reds.
Littell has allowed 26 home runs, the most in the majors. Though Great American Ball Park has a deserved reputation for allowing home runs, it might be better than the Rays' temporary home, George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. According to MLB Park Factors statistics, Steinbrenner Field has allowed 20 percent more home runs than the average field, and GABP sits at 11 percent. That said, only eight of the 26 home runs Littell has allowed this season have been at the team's home park.
Yankee Stadium, where he pitched Wednesday, allows 19 percent more homers than average.
Krall said the team still has some money in the budget to add but noted it wasn't a lot.
'You'd always like to add more if you can,' Krall said. 'But if this is our group, we've got a good group, and we're excited about it.'
(Photo of Nick Martinez throwing to first: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)