The Reds named Carson Spiers as Andrew Abbott’s rotation replacement today, so it’s the bullpen or bust for Ashcraft. The Reds will probably carry him as a middle reliever, but they really ought to look at him as a short reliever, given that their current late-game options appear dreadful.

He fell to 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. Thoughts of maybe trying Ashcraft as a short reliever this spring were dashed by the setbacks suffered by Andrew Abbott and Rhett Lowder, sapping the Reds’ rotation depth. Ashcraft still seems destined for the pen anyway, but it’ll probably be as more of a middle reliever initially.

The right-hander piled up five strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing one free pass. The lone tally against him came on an RBI double by Logan O’Hoppe in the opening inning. His five strikeout victims in the contest were Jorge Soler (twice), Yoan Moncada, O’Hoppe and Mickey Moniak. Ashcraft has been extremely inconsistent in his outings so far this spring, registering an uninspiring 5.91 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and an 11/4 K/BB ratio over 10 2/3 innings through his first four starts. He’s expected to open the season in a long relief role in the Reds’ bullpen.

Ashcraft appears ticketed for a long relief role at the outset of the regular season after Cincinnati brought in Brady Singer during the offseason in addition to re-signing Nick Martinez. The 27-year-old right-hander throws hard but has struggled with run prevention and lacks strikeout potential, making him relevant only in deep NL-only leagues.