Reds Option RHP Kyle Nicolas to Triple-A Louisville for Opening Day Roster

Kyle Nicolas arrived in Cincinnati via trade less than three weeks ago. He will begin his Reds career in Triple-A.

The Reds optioned the right-hander to the Louisville Bats on March 22, a move that left 30 players in major league camp as Cincinnati finalizes its Opening Day roster. The transaction came just 18 days after the club acquired Nicolas from the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 4 in exchange for left fielder Tyler Callihan.

The timing of the trade created an unusual situation. Nicolas was already in Italy's World Baseball Classic camp when the deal was made, and he threw just 1⅔ innings in relief during the tournament. He had also tossed two scoreless innings in Cactus League play before departing for the WBC, leaving him well short of the workload needed to be roster-ready for Opening Day. The plan, according to reports, is to keep Nicolas in Arizona for extended spring training before shipping him to Louisville once he's built back up.

"I'm very excited for this new opportunity in my career," Nicolas said. "I'm excited to get after it with these guys."

Nicolas, 27, is a Ball State product who was a second-round pick by the Miami Marlins in 2020 before being traded to Pittsburgh as part of the package for Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings in 2021. He debuted as a September call-up in 2023 and has since opened both the 2024 and 2025 seasons on optional assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis. His path with the Reds begins the same way, now with Louisville instead of Indianapolis.

Across 98 major league innings, Nicolas carries a 4.68 ERA with a 22 percent strikeout rate and a 12.2 percent walk rate. The command issues have followed him to Triple-A as well: he walked more than 12 percent of opposing batters at the minor league level last season while posting a 3.79 ERA and a strong 31 percent strikeout rate. The stuff is not in question; the walks are. He has posted double-digit walk rates at nearly every stop of his professional career. Over 119 minor league appearances, he carries a 4.28 ERA with 427 strikeouts across 334.2 innings.

With one minor league option remaining, the Reds can send Nicolas to Louisville without exposing him to waivers. He has a little over one year of service time, placing him at least two years from arbitration eligibility and five years from free agency.

The roster math drove the decision as much as anything else. Cincinnati plans to carry seven relievers to open the season, with spots expected to go to Emilio Pagán, Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft, Pierce Johnson, Brock Burke and Connor Phillips. Caleb Ferguson will open the year on the injured list, and the final bullpen slot is a competition between Sam Moll, who is out of options, Zach Maxwell and Luis Mey. Nicolas, given his limited spring work, was never in that conversation.

Reliever Hagen Danner was also reassigned to minor league camp this week under different circumstances. Manager Terry Francona explained the Danner decision in terms that illuminate how the Reds are thinking about roster flexibility: "The kid did nothing to not make our club," Francona said. "We told him that. Truth be told, we told him this, he was not on the 40-man roster and he has no options left. If you add a kid like that to your roster on Opening Day and you run into a problem a week in… To his credit, he understood and listened."

Nicolas figures to be a name worth watching once he's stretched out in Louisville. The Reds clearly valued his arm enough to move a young outfielder for it in March, and a bullpen that needs to navigate a full season will almost certainly need him before long.