CINCINNATI -- Right-hander Raisel Iglesias had a successful first rehab outing for Double-A Pensacola Saturday night, as he continues to work his way back to the Reds from an impingement in his right shoulder. Iglesias allowed two hits in two scoreless innings that included a pair of strikeouts.
"He threw strikes with good velocity," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I think right now it's just going to be creating the durability and getting comfortable coming back out of the bullpen. It's something he's done and done at a high level for the Cuban national team."
Price noted that Iglesias was able to throw his full mix of pitches -- fastball, slider, sinker and changeup -- with his fastball velocity ranging from 93-96 mph. Iglesias threw 30 total pitches, 22 of them for strikes.
Iglesias made five starts, including on Opening Day, pitching a total of 28 1/3 innings and compiling a 3.49 ERA before his shoulder sidelined him on May 1. When he does return to the Reds, he'll be pitching out of the bullpen. It's the same role Michael Lorenzen will be in when he returns from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville, and it's the role that Alfredo Simon now finds himself in after being dropped from the starting rotation.
Reds relievers have made 195 appearances in the team's first 62 games, led by Tony Cingrani (31), Blake Wood (30) and Ross Ohlendorf (27). The bullpen's 6.55 ERA is the highest in the Majors, and the 38 percent of inherited runners scored is tied for the fourth-highest rate. They also have converted just nine of 21 save opportunities.
"Initially, I think everyone that comes up here, be it Lorenzen or Simon getting re-acclimated and Iglesias, I'd love to provide them with a soft landing where you start your own inning and not a terribly high-leverage situation," Price said. "I'd prefer these guys just get re-acclimated to being on the team, pitching in the big leagues and then allow their performance to dictate where they fall.
"But I do think all of those mentioned, including Simon, can be high-leverage, back-end-of-the-game [pitchers] to support what Cingrani, Ohlendorf and Wood have been doing."