Reed was pummelled by the Padres on Saturday, giving up four runs on a walk and four hits, including a home run, while recording just two outs. Reed has performed poorly recently, giving up runs in three of his last five outings. His decline has been quite rapid - his strikeout rate (17.7 percent) and walk rate (9.7 percent) are both career worsts. At this point, he should be considered a middle reliever until he shows that he can get batters out consistently.

Reed picked up the save Monday against Anaheim, allowing one hit over 1.1 innings of work. Reed's line is a bit deceiving - he came in with two outs in the eighth and allowed one run to score on a wild pitch before giving up a two-run double to Mike Trout, but none of the runs were earned due to an error earlier in the inning. He finished the eighth and then worked a clean ninth inning with a four run lead, getting credited with a save despite his poor performance. Reed is still not pitching well enough to resume closing in Arizona as this outing attests. Although he hasn't lost any fastball velocity this year, he is striking out a career-low 7.6 per nine innings, while his 3.8 BB/9 is a career high. Those aren't the numbers of a reliable closer.

Despite Brad Ziegler getting a day off, the D-Backs went to Daniel Hudson, not Reed, for the save Sunday against the Giants. Reed was well rested not having pitched since June 9, but in that outing he gave up a run on a walk and two hits, while recording just one out. While Reed has pitched better since being moved to a setup role, he hasn't done enough to earn save chances, even when Ziegler gets rest. His value is very low at the moment and he should only be stashed in very deep leagues.

Reed gave up a run on two hits and a walk, while recording just one out, Tuesday against the Dodgers. Reed has been solid since being removed from the closer role, but he has now yielded at least one baserunner in each of his last three outings. He has work to do to become more consistent if he hopes to return to ninth inning duties for the D-Backs.

Despite reports that Reed may be close to getting back the closer role, Brad Ziegler has received the Diamondbacks last three save opportunities, converting all three, while Reed remains in a setup role. Reed has pitched well as a setup man, collecting four holds while posting a 2.25 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 12 innings, but Ziegler remains the D-Backs' most effective reliever, making it hard to justify a change. That said, manager Chip Hale has seemed open to the possibility of putting Reed back in the ninth inning, so owners counting on his return to that role may simply need some more patience.

Reed may be close to regaining the D-Backs' closer job, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports. Manager Chip Hale said he is still looking closely at the matchups but Piecoro said it sounds like Reed is close to getting his old job back. He has given up two runs in eight innings since being removed from the closer's role and Brad Ziegler has not been perfect while closing. Assuming Reed gets the job back he will still be a low-end saves option in fantasy but at least he would be back to offering more than just strikeouts and mediocre ratios.

Reed picked up a win in relief, allowing one hit while striking out two over 1.2 innings as Arizona defeated Milwaukee 7-5 Friday night. Reed (2-2, 5.00 ERA) was removed from the closer's role two weeks ago, but has pitched much better since, dropping his ERA from 7.20 to 5.00. Brad Ziegler picked up his third save in this one, but was scored upon again so Reed could be in line for another chance in the near future. Stay tuned.

Reed pitched two scoreless innings Saturday allowing a hit and a walk, while striking out one, against the Phillies. Reed pitched the sixth and seventh innings of this one after manager Chip Hale indicated that he would use Reed in lower-leverage situations for a while. The period that Reed will not be used as closer is unclear, but this performance is certainly encouraging that he can be more successful than he has to date this year.

Manager Chip Hale indicated Friday that Reed will likely pitch earlier in games as he works through mechanical issues, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Hale used a nicely-worded phrase to basically say Reed will be removed from the closer role, at least temporarily. He didn't indicate who would take over, but Reed's 7.20 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and two blown saves in four chances were far from spectacular, and wasn't good enough to keep him in the role.

Reed blew another save in spectacular fashion Wednesday, loading the bases with a one-run lead in the ninth and then giving up a grand slam to the Nationals' Michael Taylor. Reed's last outing had been a positive one, as he delivered a perfect inning for a save Sunday, but any optimism that may have generated was short-lived. He's now given up eight runs and 15 hits in 10 innings this year, making it harder and harder for Arizona to keep him in the closer role. His lone saving grace is that there aren't a lot of other options in the D-Backs' bullpen, but that line of reasoning can only go so far.