The Cincinnati Reds added some pitching depth on Saturday.
They announced a trade with the Boston Red Sox to acquire right-handed pitcher Brian Van Belle. Cash considerations go back to Boston in the deal.
Van Belle has been assigned to Triple-A Louisville, although he could be in line for a call-up soon.
The 28-year old has yet to make his MLB debut. He was on Boston's roster earlier this week but didn't get into a game before being designated for assignment.
Van Belle was an undrafted free agent after the shortened 2020 draft. The 6-foot-3 righty started his college career at Broward College before going to the University of Miami.
In 205 career innings at Triple-A, Van Belle has a 4.48 ERA.
MORE: Aaron Judge can make even rarer MLB history than batting .400
He's capable of pitching in a lot of different roles. He started the majority of his Triple-A outings in 2023 and 2025 while almost entirely relieving in 2024.
The Reds are currently without Hunter Greene (groin/back) due to injury, so extra pitching can't be a bad thing.
Van Belle was fantastic at Triple-A Worcester this season. He had a 2.29 ERA through 12 appearances (eight starts) with a 5-1 record. He had 41 strikeouts in 51 innings.
If he can carry that form into his new organization, he'll have a chance to contribute.
MORE MLB NEWS:
- Yankees' J.C. Escarra is secretly one of the best catchers in MLB
- James Wood hit a home run to a place no one ever reaches
- Detroit Lions, Tigers on pace for amazing NFL-MLB city history
- Nationals rookie faced legendary Mo'Ne Davis at LLWS
- Shohei Ohtani's pitching return has one huge unanswered question
- Cal Raleigh makes more never-before-seen catcher history