It’s almost certainly too little, too late, but the Cincinnati Reds are beginning to get some of their bullpen arms back in form. Graham Ashcraft, for instance, threw a bullpen on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park and seems poised for a rehab stint as early as this weekend.
On Friday, though, the Reds got something more tangible. Tony Santillan was activated prior to the series opener in the Land of the Endless Strip Mall against the Diamondbacks after having thrown his most recent pitch for the Reds almost
two months ago back on June 22nd.
Making way for Big Tone on the roster was Zach Maxwell, with the move technically post-dated to yesterday evening after the debacle against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Santillan’s overall 5.23 ERA and 5.57 FIP on the season are ugly as sin, but he’d turned a corner in the month of June prior to landing on the shelf. He poured in 7 straight scoreless appearances in the month prior to yielding an earned run and walk in the game where he strained his oblique and hit the shelf, and the Reds will surely hoping it’ll be that guy that helps anchor their bullpen down the stretch.
