LeCure confident he can again be part of Reds plans this season
LOUISVILLE -- It was an April Fools' Day joke without a punchline. It was more like a punch to the gut for Sam LeCure. It wasn't a knockout punch when LeCure was told he wouldn't be making the Reds' Opening Day 25-man roster for the first time in five years but it did stun him.
While the second half of last season wasn't his best, LeCure has been a mainstay in the Reds' bullpen the past few seasons. He's been the guy who you give the ball to when the bases are loaded, no one is out and you're trying to preserve a one-run lead. He's been the guy who has succeeded in those tight spots.
So, yeah, when the Reds came to LeCure on April 1, two days before the team was to break spring training camp in Goodyear, Ariz., for a couple of final exhibition games in Montreal against the Toronto Blue Jays, LeCure didn't know what to think. All he knew was that he would be heading to Triple-A Louisville instead.
"I was a little bit in disbelief. I know I didn't have a terrible camp but I also know I wasn't throwing the ball the way I was capable of," said LeCure on Sunday at Louisville Slugger Field prior to the Bats' game against the Toledo Mud Hens. "I didn't see it coming so I wasn't stressed out about it or anything. To be honest with you, it never occurred to me that I wasn't going to make the team, but after the fact it was 'Okay, it is what it is.' Now there is still an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues here."
The Reds pointed to the bullpen this offseason as a unit they wanted to upgrade. It was a unit that struggled, to say the least, when it came to bridging that gap between the starters and closer Aroldis Chapman. Despite the changes that were afoot, there was the belief that LeCure would be a part of the solution. He had appeared in 231 games for the Reds the past five seasons. Only Chapman and Logan Ondrusek had been to the mound more times in that span.
Instead, LeCure was told he had some things to work on after appearing in seven spring training games. Reds manager Bryan Price said, when announcing that LeCure was being sent to the minors, that there was an issue with velocity but more importantly the Reds were concerned that LeCure wasn't commanding his fastball to the level he has in the past.
LeCure said he is healthy and that the issue has been in his mechanics. He believes he and Louisville pitching coach Ted Power have figured some things out in their bullpen sessions and by looking at video. LeCure's 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Mud Hens were a good sign for him. LeCure came in and got the final out of the sixth inning after replacing Homer Bailey, who was making a rehab start, and then retired the side in order in the seventh inning, preserving the 4-3 deficit he inherited.
"I know I don't throw 83-85 miles-an-hour. That was a mechanical thing," said LeCure, who was making his second appearance of the season for Louisville.
He gave up a run on two hits with a walk in one previous inning.
"I've never been a guy who's had to fight my mechanics so it was unchartered territory for me a little bit. I didn't know exactly where to look," said LeCure. "I was looking in the right spot in spring training, I was, but I was still looking at the wrong cause. I was thinking it was one thing, and I was on the right track, but I didn't feel like I nailed it down and we're hopeful with this last little mound session that we had that we've nailed down what it was and hopefully that will get me back to commanding the fastball.
"I feel once I'm doing that all of the other stuff falls into place."
The Reds' bullpen is continuing to struggle to define its roles in the first week of the season. Sunday's 7-5 loss in extra innings to St. Louis was a case-in-point. Jumbo Diaz gave up his first runs of the season in four appearances but Jhonny Peralta's two-run home run in the eighth inning erased Cincinnati's 5-3 lead. Kevin Gregg had a third consecutive poor outing when he surrendered what proved to be the game-winning two-run homer to Matt Carpenter in the 10th inning.
If LeCure is going to make it back to the Reds, he doesn't want it to be because someone is performing poorly or gets injured. While he believes his previous service time could have afforded him some benefit of the doubt in this situation, there is no bitterness or grudge being held. It was a lesson learned.
Price spoke about his belief that LeCure will be back with the Reds at some point this season. Bailey spoke about that belief, as well, after his outing Sunday.
"I think there is no doubt that Sam will help us down the road," said Bailey. "He's down here to work on the things that he knows he needs to work on. Sam is such a great character guy that he understood it. No one likes to be sent down, and we've all been there.
"He understands that this is what he's going to do and I'm sure he's making the best of it. He had a quick inning there and looked really good. Having Teddy here is a big help. They have a lot of history together and Teddy is a real good pitching coach. I see no reason why he's not going to help us."
Yet LeCure knows the well wishes of others won't get him back to the major leagues.
"My focus is to be in the big leagues just the same as all of these guys here so we're going to work to do that," said LeCure. "Whatever it takes, and if there is an opportunity for me to go up there and contribute, then yeah, I hope to be a part of that. I feel like I've been not a big part but a part of the step forward this organization has taken the past few years."
LeCure has gotten up from the gut punch. He's developed a following on Twitter (@mrLeCure) and those followers and fans helped him get over that initial shock. For that he's grateful.
"If I had an opportunity I would thank them all and tell them that it meant a lot to me and tell them that I'm going to keep fighting," said LeCure. "If and when it happens, I can't wait to step out onto the field coming out of the bullpen. That's going to be really special to me. It might be more special than my debut."
