Kevin Gregg Designated For Assignment Reds Recall Pedro Villarreal

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Kevin Gregg was designated for assignment.

The Reds hoped the veteran who had success in his Major League career could help the bullpen over the six-month season but it

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didn't work out

The Reds replaced him with Pedro Villarreal, who was drafted by the Reds in the seventh round of the 2008 draft.  Villarreal has been with the club in parts of the last three seasons. He has been on and off the 40-man roster in that time.

"It is a shame the fans never got to see the Kevin Gregg that had so much success in the big leagues," manager Bryan Price said.  "In the six weeks he was with us in spring training, he threw the ball very well with velocity and command. Unfortunately, when you struggle at this level, the isn't enough opportunities to allow a pitcher to work through those things."

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The Reds brought up Villarreal for the doubleheader in Chicago because he was throwing the ball very well.  The Reds have been looking for a pitcher to fill the long relief role that Alfredo Simon did when he first came to the team.  Villarreal, a former starter can pitch in longer stretches.

"Pedro is a guy that can pitch three innings. He pitched three innings in Louisville the other night, took a night off and pitched again.  He deserves that opportunity. He could have gone elsewhere but chose to stay in the organization," Price said. "He didn't have a good game in Chicago but this isn't one of those things where if you have a bad outing, you're going back to Triple A.  You can't run a team like that."