Injuries Depleting Reds Bullpen

The news of the Reds putting reliever Bill Bray on the disabled list is another blow to the bullpen,which has already lost closer Ryan Madson for the season and set-up man Nick Masset still MIA with a sore shoulder. Pitching depth is something this club does not have as much of due to the offseason trades, which is why when the club traded third baseman Juan Francisco to Atlanta before the start of the season it's no surprise they got a highly thought of bullpen arm in J.J. Hoover. The Reds will find out just what they have in Hoover who will be making his Major League debut when he enters a game, as he replaces Bray on the roster. The team truly has had to revamp the back end of the bullpen on the fly. Consider the plan was to have Bray, Masset and Sean Marshall setting up for Madson. I think the depletion to the bullpen corps makes it inevitable Aroldis Chapman will be a reliever for most, if not all of this 2012 season. It also increases the possibility Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty will be looking for bullpen help come the trade deadline should the team still be in playoff contention.