Cincinnati Reds Have a Major Problem They Need to Fix Fast

The bullpen continues to be a problem.

May 16, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) walks on the field in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

For the second night in a row, the Reds' bullpen imploded. Luckily, they held on to win on Friday night, but on Saturday, it was a big reason for their 7-4 loss to the Guardians.

On Friday, with the Reds leading 6-1, they turned to Graham Ashcraft in the 8th inning. Ashcraft threw 12 straight balls before giving up an RBI single with the bases loaded, which caused him to be pulled from the game. He was relieved by left-hander Brock Burke. Burke struck out Austin Hedges with the bases loaded, but proceeded to walk the next two batters he faced, walking in two runs.

The Reds lead the majors in walks with the bases loaded by a wide margin. In fact, they already have more bases loaded walks this year than all of last season.

On Saturday, the Reds got five innings of two-run baseball from the newly acquired Chris Paddack. After taking a 4-2 lead, the Reds turned to Luis Mey in the 6th. Mey walked the first batter he faced. He then gave up a double to Angel Martinez, but threw a wild pitch that made it a 4-3 Cincinnati lead. He walked Bryan Rocchio before being pulled from the game.

Sam Moll, Pierce Johnson, and Connor Phillips all appeared in Saturday's game and they all walked a batter. The Reds' bullpen walked six batters in four innings of work. After the game, Reds manager Terry Francona spoke to reporters about the command issues.

"To pinpoint it is that we have not commanded, that is the issue. I actually talked to our guys today a little bit because I don't think you say 'hey, don't want people,' because they're not trying to walk people. I tried to get them to take the mindset of attack of what you want to do."

The big problem with the bullpen as a whole is it's not just one or two guys that are walking people. It's almost the entire bullpen.

"We've got some guys that aren't commanding like they have and then we got some younger kids that are struggling to find their place, what pitches they can throw, and hitting the strike zone."

Before Saturday night, Cincinnati's bullpen was dead last in the majors with a 14.5% walk rate.

You just aren't going to have success in the big leagues when you walk the amount of hitters that Cincinnati's bullpen is walking. There is no magic potion to fix it. Guys need to simply step up and start commanding better or the Reds need to find replacements.