Reds RHP Cam Bedrosian elects free agency

The Reds announced Wednesday that right-hander Cam Bedrosian has rejected an outright assignment to their alternate site after clearing waivers. He’s now a free agent and is free to sign with any team.

Bedrosian, 29, had a rough go of it in Cincinnati. He earned a spot on the roster after striking out 16 of the 32 batters he faced in Spring Training, but his results in 5 2/3 regular-season innings weren’t up to par. The former Angels righty yielded seven runs on 10 hits (two homers) and six walks while punching out seven hitters.

Rough six-game stretch with the Reds notwithstanding, Bedrosian has compiled a solid track record over the past several seasons. From 2016-20 with the Halos, Bedrosian turned in 225 innings of 3.20 ERA and 3.74 SIERA ball, striking out 25.1 percent of his opponents against a 9.1 percent walk rate. Bedrosian’s strikeout rate did dip after a 2016-17 peak, but he was league-average in that regard as recently as 2019. He also regained a bit of life on his fastball in 2021, with his average velocity jumping from a career-low 92.3 mph in 2020 to 93.1 mph in 2021 — a figure that is closely in line with his 2017-19 velocity.