The Reds are shuffling the bullpen. Right-hander Pierce Johnson is headed to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced. Righty Lyon Richardson is returning to the big-league club to take his spot. To open up room on the 40-man for Richardson, Cincinnati designated right-hander Kyle Nicolas for assignment.
Nicolas joined the organization via trade from the Pirates in March. Outfielder Tyler Callihan went to Pittsburgh in the deal. Nicolas didn’t break camp with the club, but made his team debut in early April. He was knocked around for seven earned runs over seven appearances. The righty piled up 13 walks over 7 1/3 frames.
The 27-year-old Nicolas struggled in his first outing with the Reds. He ceded three earned runs in mop-up duty and had to be relieved by a position player. Nicolas settled in for four scoreless appearances after the ugly debut. He was tagged for four earned runs in a late April outing against the Rays and was optioned back to Triple-A shortly after.
Throwing strikes has been the main issue for Nicolas. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons in the majors and has yet to post a sub-10% walk rate. The righty has an underwhelming 59.5% strike rate across 93 MLB outings. Nicolas posted a career-worst 38.4% zone rate in his brief stint with the Reds.
After two short stretches with the Reds in 2023 and 2024, Richardson was a regular in the bullpen last season. He pitched to a 4.54 ERA across 37 appearances. The Reds used Richardson in a variety of roles, including occasional late-inning appearances. He picked up three holds, but also covered more than an inning on 14 occasions.
Richardson came up as a starter, and his first four games with the Reds were starts. He struggled to an 8.64 ERA as a rookie in 2023. Richardson began transitioning to a relief role in 2024. He pitched out of the bullpen six times at Triple-A. His lone appearance with the Reds that season came as a reliever. Richardson has been almost exclusively used out of the bullpen since then.
Cincinnati added Johnson on a one-year, $6.5MM deal in January. He delivered a 3.27 ERA across 24 appearances. Johnson picked up four holds and a save. The 35-year-old was removed during an outing against the Mets on Tuesday. He allowed a hit and recorded two outs before getting pulled.
Johnson is the latest high-leverage reliever to go down for the Reds. The club lost closer Emilio Pagan to a significant hamstring strain in early May. He’s about three weeks into his initial four-to-eight week recovery timeline. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft went to the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain on Friday. He hasn’t been ruled out for the season, but he’ll be sidelined for at least a couple of months.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene of the Enquirer via Imagn Images
