Cincinnati Reds’ Bill Bray yet to regain his sharpness - MLB News
The Cincinnati Reds manager indicated on Thursday, April 05, that the reliever Bill Bray might not get a late-inning setup role in the first few weeks of the season. This he attributed to the reliever’s inability to reacquire his sharpness.
Things started taking an unexpected turn when the spring started. In the Cactus League, the reliever had an ERA which in no way favoured him or strengthened his case to get in the bullpen. Bray had 12.27 ERA in just over three innings.
This was due largely to the strained left groin that overwhelmed the player, affecting his performance significantly. Bill Bray, nonetheless, has potential replacement in the team. Aroldis Chapman has already been named to do the bidding for now.
As for the team manager, his views on the possible appearances of the reliever in the days to come were obvious. Dusty Baker maintains the player is still in “Spring Training mode”.
“He's had enough to pitch, but not enough to pitch in the role we are accustomed to seeing him or with the regularity we're accustomed to seeing," Baker said Thursday. "He's still in Spring Training [mode]."
As to whether the team actually wants to use him, Dusty Baker has an answer to that question.
"We want to use him more in the middle vs. late right now," Baker said. "If something happens adversely and he's not sharp or whatever, you have time and innings to come back, vs. if it was in the eighth or ninth when you don't have time to rebound or come back. You hope nothing does happen.”
Aroldis Chapman, who was supposed to replace Bill Bray for now, had a good game on Thursday whereby he allowed not even a single hit in the inning that he pitched against the Miami Marlins.
What this shows is that the player has to work hard to get back into the team. The past season saw Bray having 79 appearances which were the most he had in his career. Whether he succeeds in making way back into the team is a question that will take a while to have the answer ready.
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