LHP is a non-roster invitee participating in Goodyear’s spring training.

Over the Christmas/New Year break, a number of moves may have gone unnoticed, one of them being the relocation of former Dodgers relief pitcher Justin Bruihl to Cincinnati. On January 3, the left-hander was invited to spring training despite not being on the roster thanks to a minor league deal signed by the Reds.

As one of the four roster casualties of the Dodgers’ four deadline deals, Bruihl was moved to the Rockies on August 1st for cash considerations, ending his time with the team.

Bruihl, a 2017 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo non-drafted free agent signee, had quite the run with Los Angeles. Ultimately, he pitched or participated in more Dodgers games than any other pick made by the team that year.

Throughout the course of the previous two seasons, Bruihl was optioned nine times in total between the Dodgers and Triple-A Oklahoma City. On August 8, 2021, he made his major league debut against the Angels, working his way out of double play situations with one out. He later joined a 106-win squad in the postseason.

During his three appearances in the NLCS versus Atlanta, Bruihl pitched two shutout innings and struck out five of the seven batters he faced. He got rid of Freddie Freeman and even managed to whiffed Eddie Rosario twice, which was quite an accomplishment considering that at the time Rosario was the world’s best hitter.

Yimi García, who pitched just once in October 2015, has the best strikeout rate (71.4%) in Dodger playoff history, with Bruihl having the second-best rate.

Some left-handers have found it difficult to adjust to the three-batter minimum, which has virtually eliminated the LOOGY role in recent years. Bruihl, who has restricted left-handers to a.480 OPS over his three years in the majors compared to a.895 OPS for right-handers against him, would have been a perfect fit for the role.

Despite this setback, Bruihl persisted, finishing the big league season with a 4.22 ERA and 102 ERA+, including 3.65 ERA and 117 ERA+ in his 65 games and 66⅔ innings with the Dodgers.

Now that spring training is underway, Bruihl has an opportunity to have a successful season if he can land a job with the Reds in Goodyear. Bruihl does have one more option year, which gives Cincinnati the roster flexibility to employ him as required all season long, should the left-hander return to the majors.