Reds designate Chris Paddack for assignment after six-appearance stint

What happened

The Cincinnati Reds announced a pair of roster additions and a pair of corresponding subtractions, with the most notable departure being the designation of right-hander Chris Paddack for assignment. To make room, the club also optioned righty Zach Maxwell. On the incoming side, righty Pierce Johnson was reinstated from the 15-day injured list, and righty Julian Garcia was selected to the roster — the Garcia move having been reported a day earlier, per MLB Trade Rumors.

Paddack's time in Cincinnati lasted six appearances: three starts and three outings out of the bullpen. He logged 22 1/3 innings as a Red, posting a 6.04 ERA in that stretch. The sample is small enough that you could fit it in a carry-on bag, but it fits a larger pattern the club apparently decided it had seen enough of.

Why it matters

The Paddack chapter in Cincinnati was always a contingency story. The Reds picked him up in May after the Miami Marlins released him, and the timing was straightforwardly opportunistic: Hunter Greene, Brandon Williamson, and Rhett Lowder were all on the injured list at the time, and Cincinnati needed arms. Paddack filled starts until Lowder came off the IL, at which point the rotation spot evaporated and Paddack shifted to long relief. Once the roster math changed again — Johnson returning from the IL, Garcia earning a call — there was no longer a slot that fit him.

That is the operational logic. The broader context is harder to ignore. Per MLB Trade Rumors, Paddack has been dealing with the downstream effects of injuries that cost him most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and since the start of the 2024 campaign he carries a 5.53 ERA across 299 1/3 innings. That is not a blip. That is a trend line, and the Reds, now working through a difficult season, have elected to stop waiting for it to bend.

Under general league mechanics, a player who has been designated for assignment must be traded, released, or placed on outright waivers within seven days. If Paddack clears waivers, he could be outrighted to the minors; if he does not, the claiming club takes on his contract. The clock is now running.

The numbers

The figures supplied by MLB Trade Rumors tell the relevant story clearly enough. In 22 1/3 innings with Cincinnati: a 6.04 ERA. Since the start of the 2024 season across all stops: a 5.53 ERA in 299 1/3 innings. The latter number is the one that matters most — it is large enough to constitute a meaningful body of work, and it is the figure the Reds front office was presumably staring at when they made this call.

The 299 1/3 innings since 2024 also tells you something about availability: Paddack has been on the mound, when healthy, with reasonable regularity. The issue in this stretch has been results, not presence.

Where the club stands

Cincinnati enters this week at 75-87 (.463), sitting fifth in the NL Central, 28 games back in the division. The club has also been eliminated from the Wild Card race, ranking ninth in that chase at 13.0 games relative to the cut line. They are currently on a one-game losing streak.

The schedule this week brings the Milwaukee Brewers to Great American Ball Park for three games. Monday's probable matchup is Brady Singer against Brandon Woodruff. Tuesday lines up Nick Lodolo against Brandon Sproat. Wednesday features Rhett Lowder — the very pitcher whose return from the IL effectively ended Paddack's rotation role — against Shane Drohan.

That Wednesday start is a small piece of narrative punctuation: Lowder's name appears in both the beginning and the end of the Paddack-in-Cincinnati story. He came back, Paddack moved to the bullpen; now Lowder is in the rotation and Paddack is on the clock.

What we don't know yet

### Is there a landing spot for Paddack?

That is the question the next seven days will answer. MLB Trade Rumors does not report any known interest from other clubs, so whether Paddack is traded, claimed off waivers, or released remains entirely open. A team with rotation injuries — the same kind of situation that made him attractive to Cincinnati in May — could find the price of a waiver claim reasonable. Or the market may be quiet. Nothing in the available material points either direction.

It is also worth noting that the Reds' announcement covers the DFA itself; what happens next is a separate transaction that has not been reported.

What to watch

The immediate operational question is what Johnson and Garcia add to a Cincinnati bullpen that has been shuffling pieces throughout a difficult season. Johnson's return from the 15-day IL restores a known quantity; Garcia's selection to the roster is the fresher variable, and his role will become clearer over the coming series against Milwaukee.

For Paddack specifically, the seven-day window is the thing to monitor. If a club claims him on waivers, that news will arrive quickly. If he clears, the conversation shifts to whether he accepts an outright assignment or elects free agency — a decision that, under standard league mechanics, is available to players with sufficient service time. None of that has been reported yet.

The Reds, meanwhile, are playing out a season that has already been mathematically resolved in the standings. The roster decisions from here are less about October and more about evaluating what the organization has, what it needs, and which arms belong in the picture going forward. Paddack, after 22 1/3 innings, has received his answer on that last question.