With no No. 5 starter needed until Tuesday, the Reds called up infielder Neftali Soto on Thursday. He replaces pitcher Tony Cingrani, who was sent to the Arizona Fall League Reds in a procedural move.
Per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, such a maneuver is possible thanks to the combination of a new rule in the collective bargaining agreement and the occurrence of a double-header made necessary Tuesday.
Normally the Reds would have to leave Cingrani in the minors for at least 10 days after sending him down, but the twin bill – a result of the rained out July 4 game against the Giants – allows the club to add him as a 26th player that day.
Soto, a 24-year-old prospect from Puerto Rico, made his MLB debut earlier this year and had one hit in two at-bats. He is hitting .278 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs for the Louisville Bats in Triple-A this season.
Cingrani is 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA with the Reds this season, including 10 starts place of the injured Johnny Cueto. The 24-year-old Illinois native has 86 strikeouts and 28 walks in 69 innings pitched during 18 appearances.
