Meet new Reds reliever Michael Feliz

Last Friday, the Reds claimed RP Michael Feliz off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room for the right-handed Feliz on the 40-man roster, the Reds designated RP Sal Romano for assignment. Romano cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than assignment to a Reds minor league affiliate. 

The Reds announced this afternoon that Feliz will join the club today. To make room for him on the 26-man active roster, the Reds sent RP Art Warren to AAA-Louisville. Warren made two 1-inning appearances for the Reds, with two strikeouts and two walks. He contributed to the four innings of shutout relief yesterday in Colorado that allowed the Reds to come back from a 6-1 deficit. 

Feliz, signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Astros, debuted for Houston in 2015 as a 22-year-old. He was part of the Pirates return from Houston in the Gerrit Cole trade in 2018. Feliz has 213 major league appearances as a reliever for the Astros (2015-2017) and Pirates (2018-2021). From 2016-2019, Feliz averaged 50 appearances a season and was a solid reliever, with a 3.66 xFIP and a 31% strikeout rate. 

Feliz began the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the Pirates, but left a game in the first week with “forearm discomfort” that ended up sidelining him for the remainder of the year. 

Coming into 2021, Feliz had to pitch his way on to the Pirates Opening Day roster. Not only had he been limited to three appearances in 2020, but he was out of options. So the Pirates either had to put him on the active roster or risk losing him to waivers. Feliz pitched well enough in Bradenton to make the club and did a nice job in his 7.2 innings of 2021 relief work (8 strikeout, 1 walk). But he also missed a couple weeks with a cracked nail on his right middle finger. 

The answer to why Pittsburgh cut him is simple. If you remember from a week ago, the Pirates had been devastated by position player injuries. In their scramble to pick up players, they got into a 40-man roster squeeze. Feliz was the no-option casualty when Pittsburgh signed Ben Gamel on Mother’s Day. Gamel appeared against the Reds the next day and made the final out in the 14-1 Reds rout. The pitcher? None other than Sal Romano. 

The Reds got a good look at Feliz in April. He appeared twice at Great American Ball Park in the second series of the season. 

To get a good idea of what Feliz throws, you have to first look back to his pitch portfolio in 2019, his last full season: 

He was heavy on his fastball which had an above-average velocity of 95 mph. His main secondary pitch was a slider. It terms of composition, it’s hard to judge much from Feliz’s brief stints in 2020 and 2021, but there’s early indication he’s throwing more sliders and fewer fastballs. His fastball velocity is 1.5 miles lower now than then. Feliz’s slider has been a good whiff and put-away pitch. Here is Feliz throwing a slider to Jonathan India earlier this season: 

 

Bottom line: The Reds chose Feliz over Romano. Both are right-handed. Both are 27 years old. Both were without options. Feliz is making $1 million this season. Romano was earning a little more than half that. The Reds decided Feliz was a bit better. He’ll be with the Reds until something better comes along. 

Featured image: https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1394382341599076365/photo/1