For Tony Cingrani, pitching out of the bullpen in Cincinnati is preferable to starting for Louisville. And for the time being, the feeling is mutual.

Cingrani, who was called up while Johnny Cueto was on the disabled list and kept in reserve on Sunday in case Cueto reinjured himself, will stick with the Reds for now.

“He fills what we need -- we need a power arm in the bullpen, we need a left-hander,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We welcome him.”

Cingrani, who made a start in Chicago last Tuesday, pitched in three games out of the bullpen last September after the rosters expanded. While he’s made just one minor-league appearance out of the bullpen, he was a closer in college at Rice.

“As long as I’m up here, I don’t really care,” Cingrani said. “Whatever they want me to do, I’m happy to do it. We’ve got five good starters and if something happens, I’m ready to jump in. I’m just happy to be back here and stay up here -- for the time being, at least.”

Cingrani has been the choice both times Cueto has been on the disabled list. He’s shined in that role, going 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA in seven starts, including 46 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Cingrani made three starts in Louisville after his first stint with the Reds and given the express orders to work on his secondary pitches. The left-hander threw slightly more breaking pitches in his one start back and also threw a slider for the first time in a big-league game, beating the Cubs. Cingrani also threw seven innings in that outing, which tied his longest outing in the majors.

Cingrani will continue to work on his offspeed pitches during bullpen sessions, but will have a different approach than he had in the minors.

“(In the minors) you’re not worried about winning, you work on what you have to work on,” Cingrani said. “You throw more sliders, changeups and curveballs than up here. Here you have to throw what you know will work.”

That will mostly be his fastball. Cingrani has already thrown 71 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the majors this year. He threw 146 innings last season. Baker had said before the latest development that the team would consider adding Cingrani to the bullpen later in the season if he wasn’t needed in the rotation. The stint in the bullpen could limit his innings, although Baker said that wasn’t the reason he’s staying in Cincinnati.

It’s likely he could return to Louisville to continue developing his secondary pitches after left-hander Sean Marshall returns. Marshall said Sunday he hopes to be back with the team within three weeks.

For now, Cingrani could be a valuable member of the Reds bullpen, which is ninth in the National League with a 3.85 ERA.

“He’s here to help us. We sent him down a couple of times to have him work on his secondary pitches. This doesn’t lend itself, a relief role, to working on his secondary pitches,” Baker said. “But this is what we need right now in this situation. You can’t have both, you want him to work on his secondary pitches, but you can’t have everything.”

He’s currently working on a curveball he learned from fellow Red Homer Bailey. If Cingrani figures out his off-speed pitches, he’ll be a lock in the rotation next year.