Chad

Reineke

Reineke, 29, allowed five earned runs in 6 2/3 innings for the Reds this season. The right-hander will likely have to settle for a minor league contract this winter.

Reineke made two appearances with the Reds last season, but spent the majority of the year as a starter with Triple-A Louisville, posting a 3.84 ERA and 77/39 K/BB ratio over 126 2/3 innings. He’ll likely function as organizational depth in 2012.

The 32-year-old right-hander had allowed 31 earned runs in 30 1/3 innings this season at Triple-A Louisville. Reineke may struggle to find another minor league deal.

Reineke spent just one day in the bigs, allowing four runs over five innings against the Rangers on Wednesday. He returns to a 4.37 ERA in 94 2/3 innings at Triple-A.

His first start of the season, Reineke didn’t pitch particularly well, allowing seven hits, including two homers, while striking out just one batter. He had a 4.37 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento this season and a 5.00 ERA in four appearances (three starts) with the Padres last season, so don’t expect anything special here.

Reineke gets the start against Texas on Wednesday, but given a mediocre 4.37 ERA in 94 2/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s not likely to make a positive impact in AL-only leagues.

If Reineke has a significant career, it figures to happen as a reliever. However, this makes two decent starts in a row for him, so he’ll likely keep his rotation spot for a while longer. A rematch against the Diamondbacks is up next.

Reineke came over from the Astros in last month’s Randy Wolf deal. He’s gone 5-10 with a 4.37 ERA and 113/41 K/BB ratio in 129 1/2 innings at Triple-A, so he’s unlikely to have success even calling Petco Park home.

They caught it before it could have become a stress fracture, so Reineke should be fine for the start of 2009. Josh Geer has taken his spot in the rotation. Reineke will likely compete for a bullpen spot next spring.

“There is some weakness in the shoulder,” manager Bud Black said. Reineke was acquired from the Astros on July 22 and has struggled in two major league outings.