Graham Ashcraft was placed directly on the 60-day injured list on May 29, 2026, after doctors diagnosed a sprain in his ulnar collateral ligament, and the Reds selected right-hander Yunior Marté's contract to open roster spots.
Fans who search «reds score» for the latest box score will now also be watching roster pages: the move removes a late-inning arm the club has been relying on and immediately changes who can be counted on in tight games.
Ashcraft last pitched on Monday, entering for a clean inning in which he struck out two batters and induced a groundout. That outing looked routine — his velocity checked in line with previous appearances — but follow-up testing revealed the UCL sprain that prompted the 60-day designation. The club’s decision to go to that longer-term list signals they do not expect him back quickly.
The timing matters because Ashcraft had become a primary leverage option. He piled up 23 holds in 2025 while posting a 3.99 ERA, a 22.5 percent strikeout rate, an 8.8 percent walk rate and a 55.9 percent ground-ball rate. Through 2026 he had added one save and ten holds, with a 3.33 ERA, a 29.4 percent strikeout rate, a 14.7 percent walk rate and a 54.1 percent ground-ball rate — numbers that underline how often Cincinnati turned to him in late innings. The club was already shorthanded: closer Emilio Pagán went on the injured list earlier in May with a hamstring strain, making this a double hit to the bullpen.
That is the friction in this roster move: Ashcraft’s last appearance provided no obvious warning. He completed a scoreless frame with two strikeouts and a groundout and his fastball was in its normal range; yet medical evaluation afterward found a UCL sprain. A sprain can sometimes be managed without surgery, but Tommy John remains the worst-case outcome, and the team’s choice to place him on the 60-day injured list leaves the length of his absence uncertain.
Into that hole the Reds have recalled Marté, who returns to the majors after a season in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons, where he posted a 1.95 ERA in 2025. Marté struggled somewhat on his return stateside: he logged 19 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2026 with a 5.12 ERA. The club also had to act quickly because Marté is out of options, meaning Cincinnati needed to add him to the 40-man to bring him up. The front office framed the transaction as roster necessity; as one team statement put it, “It’s another blow to the Cincinnati bullpen.” Manager Terry Francona has said of Marté that "He has a big arm" and is "quick to the plate," traits the Reds will hope translate this time against major-league hitters.
The immediate consequence is clear: the Reds lose a high-leverage reliever for the foreseeable future and will test Marté and other arms to fill late-inning spots while Pagán remains sidelined. The unresolved and most consequential question is whether Ashcraft’s sprain will require Tommy John surgery. That decision — surgical or rehabilitative — will determine whether he misses only months or the better part of a season and will shape Cincinnati’s bullpen plans for the rest of 2026.
