Here's how Cessa's DFA affects Reds' staff

CINCINNATI -- In a bit of a surprising move made by the Reds on Tuesday, pitcher Luis Cessa was designated for assignment amid a series of transactions.

Cincinnati moved the struggling Cessa out of the rotation and into the bullpen after his last start on Wednesday at San Diego. He pitched one scoreless inning of relief but allowed three hits in Sunday's 17-4 loss to the White Sox.

"Cessa has pitched well for a long time, he’s had a very successful career," Reds manager David Bell said. "I would imagine he will end up somewhere else, but for us, it was just more about making a change and looking to make any improvement we can."

The 31-year-old Cessa, who was making $2.65 million in 2023, will be a free agent after the season. He was 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA in seven games, including six starts. The right-hander struck out 8.3% of his batters, the lowest rate among 177 pitchers with 75-plus batters faced. His .372 expected batting average vs. opponents and 14.2% whiff rate were also the worst in MLB.

During Spring Training while competing for a Reds rotation spot, Cessa played for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. But he was used in only two innings of one game as a reliever, prompting him to leave the tournament early to return to camp and battle for a place in the starting five.

In 2022, Cessa made a midseason conversion from reliever to starter and had a 3.77 ERA over his final nine starts. He was unable to find his footing this season as a starter and eventually fell out of favor.

Cessa's bottom came on April 16, when he allowed 11 earned runs and 14 hits -- both career highs -- over three innings in a 14-3 loss to the Phillies. Against the Padres in his final start, he gave up three earned runs over 3 1/3 innings but had trouble throwing strikes throughout the outing.

The Reds acquired Cessa and lefty Justin Wilson in a trade with the Yankees for a Minor League pitcher on July 28, 2021, to boost their bullpen.

At the present time, Cessa was not deemed by the club to be better than the current group of relievers.

"We just believe for our team, for everything that goes into that, that this was the right decision for our team. They’re really tough decisions," Bell said. "I’m confident we made the right decision, but you’re definitely giving something up when you make a tough decision like that.”

The Reds’ rotation has an opening on Thursday, when the club closes its series against the Mets. A leading candidate for the spot is right-handed pitcher Ben Lively, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville along with fellow right-hander Kevin Herget.

In five games (four starts) for Louisville, Lively was 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA and he was scheduled to start for the Bats on Tuesday.

Lively and Herget were both part of the Reds’ bullpen for their series opener vs. the Mets.

Left-hander Andrew Abbott, who is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline, has a 2.05 ERA in six starts between Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville. Since just three of his starts have been at Triple-A, the club is not expected to rush him to the Major Leagues this week. But it's something that could happen in the coming weeks if Abbott continues to pitch well.