Lisalverto Bonilla Optioned To Louisviille Ariel Hernandez Recalled From Pensacola

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Like laundry, the Reds are putting Lisalverto Bonilla in the washing machine which is Louisville and recalling Ariel Hernandez out of their wardrobe in Pensacola.

Bonilla pitched five innings yesterday and became soiled enough the team couldn’t wear him for three days.  Hernandez has been on the hanger at Pensacola and could be used by the Reds out of the bullpen.

The Reds need a pitcher who can pitch several innings in case the starting rotation continues its current trend of short starts.

“As is quite often the case when you have to have one of your relievers throw five innings in a game, he is typically the obvious choice,” Bryan Price said.  “Bonilla wouldn’t have been available to us until the last game in Milwaukee.  We needed a fresh arm.  A lot of the roster guys have pitched recently, Romano, Astin, Brice, etc.  The freshest arm is coming from Pensacola.  We need some fresh arms after using Bonilla and Robert (Stephenson) so much the last couple of days.”

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The 6‘4“, 25-year old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was selected in the Triple A phase of the Rule V draft by the Reds from Arizona in 2015.

Last year, Hernandez split time between Dayton and Daytona. He was 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA and five saves in 43 appearances.  For Pensacola this year, Hernandez has appeared in seven games.  He pitched eight innings is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA with one earned run allowed. 

“There are certainly guys on the Triple A roster, who have either pitched here or we anticipate pitching here,” Price said.  “But there’s no negatives for Ariel coming up. Again it’s a good experience. As it was for Astin and Winker.  It could be but it’s unlikely to be a long stay.”

“We have to wait on Robert for a couple days.  You only have so many roster pitchers and they have to pitch too. They can’t be sitting around waiting to be called up.”

Hernandez last pitched on Friday. He pitched one perfect inning with tw strike outs.

“His arm strength and breaking ball stood out,” Price said. “It wa just like we’d seen in reports last year when he was pitching in A ball.  It’s a huge arm. Every bit of 95 to 100 with a hard power curveball. He’s been throwing over the plate. Which is a challenge for young hard throwing pitchers. He’s been doing a lot better. He will be available to pitch an inning or two today.”