The Cincinnati Reds' bullpen just took a significant blow, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Closer Emilio Pagán went down in agony after throwing just one pitch last night, grabbing at his hamstring—a muscle that had already given him trouble earlier this season. When a player needs a cart to leave the field, and the manager says "he's certainly going to be an IL," you know this isn't a day-to-day situation. The only question now is whether Pagán lands on the 15-day or the 60-day injured list, and that answer will shape everything the Reds do next.

Here's the hard truth: even with Pagán in the bullpen, this unit was struggling badly. Their 5.36 expected ERA ranks dead last in all of Major League Baseball. They're also dead last with a staggering 6.22 walks per nine innings. Playing in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in the game over the past decade, you'd expect a bullpen to keep the ball on the ground—but the Reds' 36.1% groundball rate is the fourth-lowest in the league. All of that adds up to a 5.18 FIP, the third-worst mark in baseball. And that was with their closer.

Now, without him, the Reds have some decisions to make. If Pagán goes on the 15-day IL, the team has internal options. Zach Maxwell is already on the 40-man roster and has been shuttling between Triple-A and the big leagues like a yo-yo. Kyle Nicolas is also down in Triple-A and on the 40-man. The Reds could option Chase Petty—especially with Nick Lodolo expected to return later this week to take Petty's rotation spot—and bring both Maxwell and Nicolas up to add depth without any complicated roster gymnastics.

But depth alone won't fix a bullpen that's been one of the worst in the league. The real question is whether the Reds look beyond their current 40-man roster for help. There are a couple of relievers down in Triple-A who aren't on the 40-man but have been throwing the ball much better. If Pagán's injury is serious enough to warrant a 60-day IL stint, that opens up a 40-man roster spot—and suddenly, those arms become a lot more interesting. For a team that's already struggling to hold leads, the Reds can't afford to just patch things up. They need solutions.