Cingrani optioned due to long layoff between starts
Left-hander expected to rejoin team on Tuesday; prospect Soto recalled
CINCINNATI -- The Reds optioned left-hander Tony Cingrani to their Arizona League affiliate and recalled infield prospect Neftali Soto on Thursday.
The move is largely procedural because Cingrani, Cincinnati's No. 5 starter, has a lengthy layoff from the All-Star break, as he last pitched on Sunday. Soto will give the club an extra bench player until Cingrani's spot in the rotation comes up again, scheduled to be on Tuesday in a doubleheader in San Francisco.
Under a new rule, the Reds don't have to wait the usual 10 days to get Cingrani back after sending him down because he can be added as the roster's 26th man for a doubleheader.
Reds manager Dusty Baker has not named a starter for the other game of the doubleheader.
In an earlier call-up to the Majors in May, the right-handed hitting Soto played in two games for Cincinnati and grounded out in his only at-bat. A corner infielder, Soto, the 13th-ranked prospect by MLB.com in the Reds' system, is batting .278 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs this season for Louisville.