Reds’ Brandon Finnegan ‘pissed off’ about demotion to minor leagues

Brandon Finnegan was sent down to Triple-A Louisville earlier this month, and now he is making his thoughts on the decision known.

The Cincinnati Reds left-hander told reporters on Saturday that he was frustrated about his demotion.

“It pisses you off, honestly,” said Finnegan, according to Bobby Nightengale of Cincinnati.com. “It’s like, ‘All right I’m going to show them.’ Clearly, they don’t have that confidence in me right now, so I’ll prove to them that I’m fine. It just took a couple starts, that’s all.

“I think there was some anger behind it that got me going so this could be a blessing in disguise,” the 25-year-old added. “At the same time, nobody wants to get sent down. I’ve been up in the big leagues since I got drafted. I know I belong there. Just hoping to get back.”

Despite Finnegan’s assertions, he has simply not had it in five starts for the Reds so far this season, going 0-3 with a horrific 7.40 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. The former first-round pick was optioned to Louisville on May 10 in order to make room in the rotation for Matt Harvey and hasn’t been much better there either (0-3 with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP in three starts).

On the bright side though, at least Finnegan isn’t suffering any bizarre injuries like he was last season.