Graham Ashcraft to the Bullpen? Derek Johnson Weighs in on Reds Veteran

When Nick Martinez announced he was accepting the Reds' qualifying offer and was followed by the Reds trading for starting pitcher Brady Singer, it made many fans wonder if that meant Graham Ashcraft would be moved to the bullpen in 2025.

Derek Johnson sat down with Mike Petraglia of CLS Media to provide some input on the Reds' plans with the 26-year-old right-hander.

“I’m going to prepare him – and he’s preparing himself – right now as a starter, sort of with the understanding that we may switch gears on him in the middle of spring training, kind of looking at him in that way,” Johnson told Petraglia. “So I think from that end, he’s going to come in, he’s going to compete for a spot. He certainly is in the mix for us. It’s hard to leave out that kind of arm and that kind of stuff.

While Ashcraft is slated to compete for a starting role, Johnson hinted that the Reds remain open to exploring other possibilities for his role.

“So what his role ends up being, I think that we’ll have to make a decision on that sometime relatively in the middle of spring training. But I love the kid and I want him to do well. He deserves it based on how he would go about it.”

Ashcraft appeared in 15 games for the Reds in 2024 and had a 5.24 ERA over 77 1/3 innings. The right-hander was shut down in July with a right elbow strain and did not appear the rest of the season, but Johnson says he will be healthy and ready to go in spring training.

“I talked to him last week, he’s ready to go,” Johnson said. “He says he’s 100 percent. He’s still doing all of his physical therapy that they’ve asked him to do but in terms of being ready, he is ready.”

You can read Petraglia's full article here.