Tony Santillan struggles again as Reds bullpen depth reaches critical levels

Tony Santillan took the mound again for Cincinnati, and again it did not go well. Per Yahoo Sports, the right-hander has been struggling for weeks, and the Reds lost to the Kansas City Royals 5-2 — a result that underscored just how thin the Cincinnati bullpen has become.

What happened

Per Yahoo Sports, Santillan has been a vital part of the Reds' relief corps for several years when healthy, but he has been unable to work through a prolonged rough stretch. The complicating factor, as Yahoo Sports describes it, is that the worse he has pitched, the more he has continued to be asked to do — because the alternatives have been steadily disappearing.

The injuries to Emilio Pagan, Pierce Johnson, and Graham Ashcraft, along with what Yahoo Sports characterizes as the latest derailment of Connor Phillips, have left manager Terry Francona with a dramatically shortened list of reliable options. Per the report, there simply are not enough other viable arms available for Francona to turn away from Santillan, even as the results have continued to deteriorate.

The game itself offered a brief moment of optimism. Per Yahoo Sports, Blake Dunn hit a late two-run home run that pulled Cincinnati back to a 2-2 tie, and Chase Burns delivered what the report describes as yet another stellar start — 6.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, and 9 strikeouts. The bullpen, however, could not hold the lead, and the Royals pulled away for the 5-2 final.

Why it matters

The operational picture here is worth sitting with for a moment. Burns is doing his part. Dunn provided a timely swing. And yet the outcome was a loss, because the bridge between a quality start and a final out has become structurally compromised.

Per Yahoo Sports, the simultaneous nature of the bullpen's injury wave is what makes Santillan's situation particularly difficult. He is not struggling in a vacuum where a manager can simply reduce his workload and let him find his footing. He is struggling at the exact moment the depth chart behind him has been hollowed out. The report frames this with some sympathy — Santillan, it notes, has been a meaningful contributor to this organization, and what he appears to need is time he is not currently being given.

That dynamic — a reliever pressed into high-leverage situations while working through mechanical or command issues — is one of the more quietly damaging cycles a bullpen can enter. The pitcher does not get the low-stakes outings that might help him reset, the team absorbs the damage, and the injury list does not shorten on any particular schedule.

Is Santillan expected to keep pitching through this?

Per Yahoo Sports, yes — at least for now, because the alternatives are not there. The report does not indicate any imminent roster move or change in his role. It frames the situation as ongoing and unresolved, with Francona's hand forced by the injuries around him. What happens next with Pagan, Johnson, Ashcraft, and Phillips remains unconfirmed in the report; no timetables or diagnoses are provided.

The numbers

Chase Burns: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 K in this start, per Yahoo Sports.

Final score: Kansas City Royals 5, Cincinnati Reds 2.

The Reds carry a record of 75-87 (.463), sitting 5th in the NL Central, 28 games back in the division. They are eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, and enter Friday on a one-game losing streak.

Where the club stands

At 75-87, the Reds are in fifth place in the NL Central, 28 games out of first. They are eliminated from the division race and eliminated from Wild Card contention as well, sitting 13.0 games relative to the cut line and ranked 9th in the Wild Card standings.

The schedule offers no particular relief. Cincinnati heads to Busch Stadium for a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Brady Singer is the reported probable for Friday against Kyle Leahy. Nick Lodolo is listed as the probable for Saturday against Matthew Liberatore. Rhett Lowder is the reported probable for Sunday against Michael McGreevy.

That is three games against a division opponent, with a bullpen that Yahoo Sports describes as depleted — and with no indication in the report that any of the injured relievers are close to returning.

What we don't know yet

The report does not provide injury diagnoses, IL designations, or return timetables for Pagan, Johnson, Ashcraft, or Phillips. It characterizes Phillips's situation as "the latest derailment" without specifying what that means medically or operationally. No roster moves are reported as imminent or planned. Whether any of the four injured relievers are on the injured list, and under what terms, is not addressed in the Yahoo Sports report.

It is also worth noting that the report does not describe any specific outing by Santillan in statistical terms beyond the game's final score — the characterization of his struggles is framed in cumulative terms over recent weeks, not tied to a single line from this particular appearance.

What to watch

The most immediate question is whether Cincinnati makes any roster move before the Cardinals series to address the bullpen depth. Under general league rules, pitchers placed on the injured list must serve a minimum of 15 days, and a 60-day IL placement removes a player from the 40-man roster count entirely — mechanics that matter when a club is trying to create space for reinforcements. None of that has been reported as happening here; it is simply the framework within which any potential move would operate.

Beyond the roster question, Burns continues to be the one consistent bright spot in the rotation, per Yahoo Sports. His line in this start — 6.0 innings, 2 earned runs, 9 strikeouts — is described as part of a pattern of strong performances. Whether the bullpen can be stabilized enough to convert those starts into wins is the central operational question facing this club as it plays out a season in which the standings pressure has already been removed.

Santillan's workload over the coming week, and whether Francona finds any way to reduce it, is the thread worth following most closely.