Daniel Wright will get another chance with the Cincinnati Reds to show that he has the potential to be a major league starting pitcher. The 25-year-old righty is scheduled to make the second start of his big league career Monday night.
Wright showed some promise in his major league debut last month but didn’t get the chance to start another game after injured starter Jon Moscot returned to reclaim a rotation spot.
Wright did stick on the 25-man roster in a relief role after Moscot’s return. His lack of success in two appearances, however, clouded Wright’s future on the active roster.
After Moscot blew his rotation spot and Alfredo Simon continued to pitch so bad that he lost his value as a starter, Wright found himself back in the rotation mix for at least one more crack.
Wright could last in the rotation until Homer Bailey makes his long-awaited return. The Reds have yet to call up Robert Stephenson or Cody Reed from Triple-A to fill a rotation spot for the rest of the year, so Wright can be the fifth starter for the foreseeable future if he can pitch well enough to claim the role.
Wright also has the chance to put himself in a position to be the primary spot starter for the Reds in 2017. The Reds’ rotation at the start of next year will look a lot different than it does now. Bailey, Stephenson and Reed will likely be joined by Anthony DeSclafani and either John Lamb, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen or Dan Straily.
With two years of options ahead of him after 2016, Wright becomes more appealing for a future spot starter role because he can allow the Reds to shift one or more of the above mentioned potential starters permanently to the bullpen.
All Wright has to do is continue to show he has enough of the right stuff to fill his role in the rotation when called upon.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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