CINCINNATI -- Just as the Reds' bullpen has appeared to have regained some of its footing this week, it was dealt another injury blow that will definitely affect how the club navigates the later innings.
Graham Ashcraft, a high-leverage reliever, was placed on the 60-day injured list Friday with a right ulnar collateral ligament sprain, which is in the elbow and forearm areas. Cincinnati called up right-hander Yunior Marte from Triple-A Louisville to fill Ashcraft's roster spot.
“It’s a punch in the gut," Ashcraft said. "Everybody on this team has a huge role. It just seems like we’re getting unlucky with guys going down right now. It’s just kind of part of the game, part of what we do, part of our careers. You can’t really do anything about it but just take it day by day and just get yourself better at the end of it.”
The depleted bullpen played a part in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Braves at Great American Ball Park, allowing four runs in the top of the sixth inning after inheriting a one-run deficit from starter Chris Paddack.
Ashcraft last pitched Monday in the Reds' 7-2 win over the Mets, a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts. He felt no soreness during or immediately after pitching. The next morning, he noticed his arm wasn't right.
“Felt really stiff. It felt like the flexor had a lot of tightness, and it just wasn’t typically normal how I feel after I throw," Ashcraft said.
Ashcraft told the training staff and took Tuesday off and still didn't feel improvement on Wednesday. Team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tim Kremchek diagnosed the right-hander with the UCL sprain and recommended a platelet-rich plasma injection, which would happen on Tuesday. Ashcraft is getting a second opinion to be sure, but he is obviously hoping he can avoid season-ending Tommy John surgery.
“Missing 2 1/2 months is a lot better than missing a year-and-a-half," Ashcraft said of the PRP injection.
Ashcraft missed two weeks on the IL last season with a right forearm strain in a similar area.
“It felt a lot more sore than it was last year," he said. "Last year, it was very isolated to one kind of specific part of the muscle valley of the forearm. This year, it felt like the entire flexor from my wrist down was really sore. And that’s kind of the sign of a UCL sprain.”
In 26 appearances and 27 innings, Ashcraft has a 3.33 ERA this season, with opponents batting .183 against him. His 54.1% ground-ball rate ranks in the 92nd percentile of MLB -- which has helped him limit hard contact.
“It was probably more than his innings because he had the ability to face left- and right-handers," manager Terry Francona said. "It didn’t always work out like we wanted it to, but still, when you know what you can do with somebody, [it’s] like, ‘Here’s your slot, go get ‘em.’ It really helps. It makes it more difficult [without Ashcraft]. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, just means it’s a little more difficult.”
The Reds are already without closer Emilio Pagán, who strained his left hamstring during a May 5 appearance vs. the Cubs and is out 4-8 weeks. Starting pitchers Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson are just some of the players currently on the IL.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us," Francona said. "As long as we don’t -- and I know we won’t. Go compete and keep playing.”
After having the best bullpen ERA over the season's first month, Reds relievers entered Friday ranked 27th in the Major Leagues with a 4.92 ERA while leading the Majors with 135 walks. Against the Mets, the bullpen looked good as it allowed two runs over 8 2/3 innings.
Since Pagán went down, Francona hasn't named a dedicated closer and has relied on matchups. Tony Santillan, Brock Burke, Sam Moll, Tejay Antone and Pierce Johnson will be among those who will be counted on in the later innings.
The Reds trailed 4-0 after two innings as Paddack was roughed up, but he recovered to pitch five innings -- and fourth-inning solo home runs by JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe helped close the gap to 4-3. For the sixth inning, Francona gave the ball to Marte for his first big league appearance since 2024.
Able to retire only one of his six batters, Marte was charged with four runs on three hits with a hit batter and intentional walk. Two of the inherited runners Marte left scored when Michael Harris II hit a two-run single off Caleb Ferguson. The lefty Ferguson pitched 1 2/3 innings with three strikeouts.
In an encouraging sign, Zach Maxwell pitched two scoreless innings despite a pair of two-out singles in the top of the ninth inning.
Said Francona before the game: “There’s not one person down there that’s not going to be important."