Former Reds infielder now a knuckleball pitcher in Minors

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS – Former Reds infielder Alex Blandino was willing to go all the way back to the beginning and start over.

At 31 years old, Blandino is in the lower Minor Leagues at Single-A Daytona, and he's playing with teammates who are 10-12 years younger, while riding buses to road games in the pursuit of a different big league dream. This time, he is trying to reach the Major Leagues as a knuckleball pitcher.

Blandino was the 29th overall pick by the Reds in the 2014 Draft, made his debut on April 10, 2018, and played three seasons for Cincinnati ('18-19 and '21). His rise through the organization included a stop in Daytona when the Florida State League club was a Class A Advanced affiliate.

“It’s a little bit nostalgic. I’m getting flashbacks of my time here in Daytona," Blandino said on Friday. "It sort of feels like I’m in a time loop or redo of my career."

Even Daytona's manager, Julio Morillo, was a Minor League teammate of Blandino's. In the big leagues, Morillo was the Reds' Spanish translator while Blandino played.

Blandino did pitch in five games at the end of blowout losses for the Reds, including four in 2021. While he mostly threw fastballs in those games, he did throw a knuckleball eight times.

After Triple-A stints for the Giants and Mariners organizations in 2022, Blandino played for Nicaragua in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. But that was the end of his career as a position player. He started working on his knuckleball at a facility in Southern California and eventually showed the Reds what he could do in the offseason. They signed him to a Minor League contract in November.

Blandino remained in Minor League camp at Spring Training and kept pitching through extended spring camp. On June 8, he debuted in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and made two appearances. On June 23, he moved up to Daytona. That first outing at Dunedin didn't go well as he walked two of the three batters he faced and hit the other, allowing two runs without recording an out.

"It's all about consistency and building confidence for Blandino. He showed enough during his time in Arizona to earn the next challenge," Reds player development director Jeremy Farrell said.

Overall, Blandino likes the life of a reliever.

“My first game in Dunedin wasn’t exactly what I would have liked. But I will continue to get back out there. All of my bullpen work has been awesome," Blandino said. “I’ve been really happy with the routine, all the work and figuring out what it takes to be a pitcher for a whole season. Managing workloads, arm care and I’m still learning some of those things. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp for it now."

Knuckleball pitchers are rare these days in MLB, with only Matt Waldron of the Padres currently using the pitch with any regularity. No coaches in the Reds organization have thrown it.

Blandino sometimes gets outside help from former knuckleballers. One of the greats with the pitch, Tom Candiotti, visited Reds camp for a few days to work with him. Last week, Blandino spent an hour on the phone talking with former Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright.

“The knuckleball community is so small," Blandino said. "Anyone who has thrown a knuckleball at a high level for the most part is willing to at least chat and help out. They can tell you what works and doesn’t work for them.”

Meanwhile, Blandino has served as a source of information for his young teammates. Not much unlike Crash Davis in "Bull Durham," he can share his experience of big league life on and off the field.

“What is it like to be in the big leagues? How’s the food? How are the plane rides? What are your favorite stadiums to play in?" Blandino said. "They ask me stories about my playing career. I tell them how things are, impart some wisdom and try to help them as much as I can.”

As a position player, Blandino always wondered what pitchers did in the bullpen all game. Now he knows how the other half live.

"They were always in their own little world," he said. "Pitchers were doing all sorts of weird stuff, and now I am one of those guys.”

This year, Blandino has not set expectations or timelines for his development towards the big leagues. He is willing to let the season play out and see what happens.

“I still love it. I still love the grind that is the baseball season and being on a team with a group of guys that are all together pursuing one goal," Blandino said. “I'm really just happy to be doing this and learning every day, and I’m looking to enjoy playing again and being out here and obviously, putting up good numbers. That’s my goal.”

Here are developments from the rest of the Reds' system:

Triple-A Louisville

Right-handed starting pitcher Connor Phillips – the Reds' No. 4 prospect – was demoted to the Rookie-level ACL Reds on Tuesday. In 14 starts and 57 innings, Phillips had a 10.11 ERA with almost as many walks (50) as strikeouts (53).

The plan is for Phillips to take some time to throw on the side before getting back into games.

"We still believe in him and think he is part of our future," Farrell said. "But we felt giving him a bit of a reset was the best thing to do at this time."

Double-A Chattanooga

During Thursday's 12-3 Lookouts win over Rocket City, second baseman Ivan Johnson went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a walk and four RBIs. In that same game, top prospect Rhett Lowder (Cincinnati's top prospect, No. 22 overall) picked up his first Double-A win. Lowder pitched five innings with two earned runs, six hits and one walk allowed while striking out five.

High-A Dayton

Third baseman Cam Collier (Reds' No. 3 prospect, No. 90 overall), is among those having a nice week for the Dragons. In the second inning of a 4-3 win at Fort Wayne on Friday, Collier hit his second homer in three games during a 2-for-4 performance.