Reiver

Sanmartin

Sanmartin had a real shot at winning a spot in the Giants bullpen before getting hurt covering first base earlier this month. He’s expected to be sidelined until midseason.

It’s a bummer for the 29-year-old, who was hoping to make the Giants bullpen after pitching to a 2.67 ERA in 67 1/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville in the Reds’ organziation last season. Perhaps he can return and be an option in the second half of the seaosn.

Sanmartin was covering first base on a grounder when the injury occurred. He’s expected to see an orthopedist on Wednesday. Sanmartin was competing for a spot in the Giants bullpen, but it now seems likely he’ll be behind enough to be questionable for Opening Day.

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.