Alex

Young

Young hasn’t pitched this spring due to elbow pain and went back to Cincinnati last weekend to determine whether he’ll require Tommy John surgery. The 31-year-old lefty was in camp as a non-roster invitee. With stopper Alexis Díaz dealing with mechanical issues after battling a knee issue in camp, his absence definitely hurts the Reds’ middle relief depth.

Young returns to Cincinnati, where he spent parts of the last two seasons, just a few months after being non-tendered by the Mets. The 31-year-old southpaw, who boasts a respectable 4.34 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 239/106 K/BB ratio across 277 2/3 innings (177 appearances, 25 starts) in the big leagues since 2019, provides the Reds with some additional relief depth entering spring training.

Paul Blackburn was tendered in spite of the back surgery that has him as a question mark for Opening Day. Young had a 3.29 ERA in 14 appearances for the Mets after being claimed off waivers from the Giants in July. The journeyman has a 4.34 ERA in 277 2/3 innings for five major leaguer teams over six seasons.

Young loses his spot because the Mets wanted to add Joey Lucchesi to start tonight. He pitched 14 times in three stints with the Mets, amassing a 3.29 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.

Young is one of the two new Mets with rosters expanding from 26 to 28 players on Sunday, the other being Pablo Reyes. Young will be a mid-inning option who will probably face his fair share of southpaws while he’s with the Mets over the final month.

Young heads back to the minors to make room for high-leverage arm Reed Garrett to return from the injured list. The 30-year-old lefty has posted a strong 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP 6/3 K/BB ratio across seven innings (seven appearances) since being claimed off waivers last month from the Giants.

Young has been summoned to fortify New York’s bullpen depth ahead of Tuesday’s Subway Series opener against the Yankees with starter Christian Scott heading to the injured list with a UCL sprain. The 30-year-old lefty was claimed off waivers last week from the Giants and has made just three relief appearances this season in the big leagues.

It seems the Giants just really wanted Austin Slater gone, as Young was the return in that trade with the Reds a week ago. The journeyman reliever pitched two scoreless innings for Cincinnati earlier this season, and he has a 2.19 ERA in 24 2/3 innings in Triple-A.

Young has thrown just two innings at the big league level in 2024 but has a 1.19 ERA across 22 2/3 innings at Triple-A with a 22/7 K/BB ratio. He has also been a valuable reliever for the last two seasons and appeared in 63 games for the Reds last year. He should get a chance to contribute for the Giants in the near future.

Slater is struggling this year with just a .200/.333/.224 slash line; however, he has made his reputation as a strong offensive player against left-handed pitching with a career .275/.367/.437 line. The Reds have a left-handed-heavy outfield, and the recent injury to Nick Martini has left Edwin Rios as the main designated hitter. Slater should see regular starts against lefties with the chance to carve out more playing time if he hits.