The Reds designated Nicolas for assignment Saturday.
Nicolas has been at Triple-A Louisville since late April, but he'll now also lose his place on the 40-man roster in order to make room for Lyon Richardson, who was selected to the active roster Saturday. Nicolas gave up seven earned runs in just 7.1 innings during his time with the big club and hasn't performed much better in the minors, accumulating a 5.17 ERA and 2.24 WHIP in 15.2 frames.