John Fay

jfay@enquirer.com

While left field concerns are understandably getting the bulk of the attention this offseason for the Reds, the club has not made a significant move to fix the bullpen either.

A big bat in left field is seen as key to fixing the offense -- a major weakness this year.

But the bullpen was statistically worse than the offense. The bullpen finished 14th in the National League with a 4.11 ERA. Only the Colorado Rockies were worse. The collective record of the bullpen was a woeful 11-31.

The numbers are even scarier when you consider Aroldis Chapman probably had the best year of any reliever in the NL and Jonathan Broxton was very good before being traded. The rest of the bullpen's ERA? 5.15.

Fixing the bullpen was probably made more difficult by trading away starters Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon. Why? Right-hander Raisel Iglesias and left-hander Tony Cingrani, two pitchers with the stuff to make an impact in the bullpen, could end up in the rotation.

Iglesias is the Cuban right-hander the Reds signed to a seven-year, $27-million deal in July. He wowed scouts with his performance in the Arizona Fall League. Iglesias did not give up a hit over three appearances.

Iglesias was a reliever in Cuba, but the Reds view him as a starter long-term.

"He's a guy we think can help us some time in 2015," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We're not sure if it's in the bullpen or as a starter. We'll get him ready as a starter in the spring."

Cingrani began this season in the Reds' rotation after going 7-4 with a 2.92 ERA as a rookie in 2013. He struggled this year with shoulder problems and ended up being optioned to Triple-A before being shut down for the year.

Reds manager Bryan Price has said Cingrani could end up in the bullpen, depending on how well his off-speed pitches develop.

But Cingrani, like Iglesias, will be used as a starter in spring training.

"He's fully recovered from the shoulder thing," Jocketty said. "He'll be prepared as a starter. We could always move him back to the bullpen."

The Reds have other alternatives as far as starters:

- Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, obtained in the Latos trade with Miami, made six starts for the Marlins last year. Jocketty said he thinks DeSclafani can compete for a spot in the rotation this spring.

- Left-hander David Holmberg went 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA in September. He made three consecutive quality starts to finish the year. The Reds got Holmberg from Arizona in the three-team trade that sent Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay. Holmberg came into spring training out of shape. He struggled in Triple-A and in two spot starts for the Reds before finding himself. He came to Redsfest thinner than he finished the year.

- Right-hander Dylan Axelrod went 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in four starts.

If two of the above three make the rotation, Iglesias and Cingrani can provide bullpen help. If Sean Marshall is healthy after losing most of the last two seasons to shoulder trouble, he can give a boost to the bullpen. If right-hander Matt Magill (obtained from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chris Heisey trade) can harness his stuff, he can be the long man the Reds lacked this year.

But those are three large ifs. With the payroll such an issue, the Reds are unlikely to add any major free agents for the bullpen. They are more likely to look at some of their young arms -- maybe Michael Lorezen, maybe Nick Howard -- to help the bullpen.

The focus will continue to be on left field, but what happens with the bullpen is of equal or greater importance for 2015.