Reiver

Sanmartin

Sanmartin heads to the Bay Area after making exactly one relief appearance for the Reds last season. The 29-year-old southpaw will get a chance to compete for a bullpen role next spring after compiling a solid 2.67 ERA across 67 1/3 innings over 46 appearances for Triple-A Louisville.

Sanmartin was called up on Tuesday and threw 25 pitches out of the bullpen, so the Reds will now send him back down to get a fresh arm in the bullpen.

Sanmartin is back in the majors for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery in June 2023. The 29-year-old had a 2.79 ERA and a 44/17 K/BB in 58 innings for Louisville. The strikeout rate isn’t encouraging, but Sanmartin is a strong groundball pitcher and he’s actually throwing a little harder now than in his previous major league stints, with his fastball averaging 92.0 mph in Triple-A. He averaged 90.7 mph for the Reds in 2022 and 89.9 mph in 2023.

Sanmartin has struggled to a lackluster 5.77 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 71/41 K/BB ratio across 82 2/3 innings (61 appearances, six starts) in the big leagues since 2021. The 28-year-old lefty spent all of last season in Cincinnati’s system, making 21 relief appearances, with most of those coming at Triple-A Louisville. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture.

No surprises here, but Arroyo, Lowder and Petty are the big-name prospects here. Lowder was Cincinnati’s first-round pick last summer and figures to move quickly after a standout collegiate career. Petty throws extremely hard and is just beginning to harness his formidable arsenal. He might be the first to arrive in the big leagues out of that trio.

There’s a strong possibility Sanmartin won’t be ready for the outset of the 2024 campaign after undergoing left elbow surgery back in July, but he’s back in the fold with Cincinnati after being non-tendered earlier this month. The 27-year-old lefty has made 61 appearances (six starts) in the majors since the 2021 season.

Sanmartin is coming off elbow surgery and is iffy to be ready for the beginning of next season. The 27-year-old had a 5.77 ERA in 82 2/3 innings for the Reds the last three years.

Sanmartin has been out since early May due to a left elbow stress reaction and will miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

The procedural move created a spot on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster to add reliever Alan Busenitz to the roster. Sanmartin is expected to miss the next six weeks with left elbow soreness.

Sanmartin left Sunday’s outing against the White Sox due to what was described as left elbow soreness. He’ll be shut down from throwing for the next 4-6 weeks.