Cincinnati Reds DFA Two Pitchers

June 03, 2026
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Lyon Richardson pitches during 2026 game.

The Cincinnati Reds had a brutal Monday night against the Kansas City Royals and made two roster decisions because of it.

Lyon Richardson and Brandon Leibrandt were both designated for assignment, with right-hander Zach McCambley and righty Luis Mey recalled from Triple-A Louisville in corresponding moves.

Chase Burns was scratched from Monday's start with an illness, forcing the Reds into an unplanned bullpen game that began with Richardson as opener and ended with a 9-2 final.

Richardson tossed 1.2 innings and allowed five earned runs, including a grand slam off the bat of Royals outfielder Lane Thomas.

Leibrandt was called up earlier that same day when Burns was scratched, selected from Louisville's rotation specifically for his ability to eat innings in an emergency, and then threw six frames allowing five runs on ten hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Both pitchers had their contracts selected from Louisville within days of the DFA, making the total organizational investment in each of them a matter of hours.

Richardson, 26, was a second-round pick of the Reds back in 2018 and has bounced between Triple-A and the big league roster repeatedly throughout his career.

Leibrandt, 33, is a more unusual profile.

He is the son of former pitcher Charlie Leibrandt and has pitched sparingly at the MLB level across parts of four seasons with the Marlins and Reds while building a resume that includes time in the Chinese Professional Baseball League with the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan.

His career big league line is now 21.1 innings across scattered appearances with a 5.91 ERA.

Both pitchers would need to clear waivers to return to the Reds organization.

Photo Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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