Reds trade reliever Casey Legumina to the Seattle Mariners
The Cincinnati Reds have completed a trade that will send right-handed reliever Casey Legumina to the Seattle Mariners. The term trade is a funny one in baseball because it isn’t a trade as much as it is they sold his rights to Seattle as Cincinnati is getting back cash considerations for Legumina.
Last week the Reds designated Casey Legumina for assignment when they needed to create a spot on the 40-man roster when they signed free agent outfielder Austin Hays. Rather than trying to see if they could get the claim via the waiver process, Seattle offered the Reds a little bit of cash (an undisclosed amount, but it’s typically not much at all) in order to trade for him instead of roll the dice that no one ahead of them in the waiver claim line wanted him as well.
The last two seasons have seen Casey Legumina fill a role with the Reds of being the guy riding the shuttle back-and-forth between Triple-A Louisville and Cincinnati whenever the team needed someone to come up for a game or two before being sent back down. In 2023 he pitched in 11 games with the Reds and had a 5.68 ERA while allowing 21 baserunners in 12.2 innings. Last season the 27-year-old pitched in six games for the Reds and had an 8.68 ERA while allowing 18 baserunners in 9.1 innings.
He has struggled to make the transition to the big leagues and find success. But last season he was good in Triple-A. With Louisville he went 6-2 in 39 games out of the bullpen while throwing 58.1 innings. That came along with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP while he struck out 57 batters and had just 18 walks.
It’s not unheard of for relievers in particular to be late bloomers and find some success at much older ages than you expect to typically happen. Legumina is going to be 28-years-old in 2025 and he’s only thrown 22.0 innings in the big leagues and they’ve been very unproductive innings at that. Seattle saw something there, though, as did the Reds, to bring him in and see what they’ve got. If nothing else, the ballpark in Seattle will be a bit more friendly for him if and when he gets back to the big leagues.
The acquisition of former All Star reliever Taylor Rogers from the San Francisco Giants served as the bookend of a busy week by the Cincinnati Reds, a series of transactions that may well have ended the major moves of the offseason for the club.
Rogers came with $6 million in exchange for minor league righty Braxton Roxby. The Reds also signed the rehabbing Wade Miley to a deal that will likely see him return to their rotation at some point mid-year. Brought in on minor league deals were former bullpen workhorse Ian Gibaut as well as relief options Albert Abreu and Joe La Sorsa, each of whom boasts a decent bit of big league experience.
Much of this was done as it was revealed the Reds balked at the cost of acquiring Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. It’s no surprise that that news paired with the subsequent acquisition spree prompted Nick Krall to declare “we’re probably in a spot where this is your team going into camp,” so it’s time we took a closer look at the different aspects of the rebuilt roster.
Today, we’ll look at the bullpen.
