The Cincinnati Reds signed former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Zach Duke today.

Duke is expected to join the AAA Louisville Bats.

As far as the signing goes, I think the key part about it is that Duke is left handed. Currently, the only left-handed relievers in the Reds’ bullpen are Manny Parra and Aroldis Chapman. Chapman is the closer, and in MLB the way it is today, the closer pitches the 9th inning and the 9th inning only. As for Parra, his attempts to fill the role that injured reliever Sean Marshall had has failed spectacularly. His 7.50 is not getting it done.

I have to think that should Parra continue to struggle, we might see Duke. Duke has not done well in limited time with the Washington Nationals this year, but I sure can’t fault the Reds for searching for other options.

Hopefully, though, Marshall will return sooner than later. This team needs him putting up zeros in the late innings.