The Cincinnati Reds have outrighted right-handed pitcher Ben Lively to Triple-A Louisville after he cleared waivers, the team announced Wednesday evening.
Lively ranked sixth in innings pitched on the Reds this season, racking up 88.2 innings of work across 12 starts and seven relief appearances. It was his first taste of major league action since 2019, and now he is poised to start next season back in the minors.
The 31-year-old Lively went 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA, 1.365 WHIP and 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023, which was actually his most effective campaign since his rookie year with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017. Lively got waived and claimed by the Kansas City Royals in 2018, only to get designated for assignment the following season.
After spending 2019 in the Arizona Diamondbacks' farm system, Lively signed with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. Lively stayed in Korea until he was cut loose in 2021, as he was dealing with a shoulder injury.
Lively signed a minor league deal with the Reds in 2022, returning to the team that drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He spent that entire year in Triple-A before re-upping with Cincinnati the following offseason.
The Reds selected Lively's contract in May, and he remained a part of their starting rotation for nearly three months straight. Lively gave up 13 earned runs in a start on Aug. 1, though, and he only made five relief appearances from that point on.
Prior to that dud, Lively had a 3.76 ERA and 1.209 WHIP on the season, filling in admirably for Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Cincinnati's other banged up starters.
Lively has a 5.05 ERA, 1.409 WHIP and 8-17 record for his career.
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