The Reds have released infielder Cliff Pennington at his request, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (via Twitter). He had recently been outrighted off of the 40-man roster.
Pennington, 34, has been a fixture in the majors since he debuted back in 2008, though he has not been a regular since wrapping up his time with the A’s after the 2012 campaign. In recent seasons, he has functioned as a utilityman with the Diamondbacks, Angels, and (briefly) Blue Jays.
Over the years, Pennington has compiled ample experience at short and second, while also lining up a fair bit at third base and seeing limited action in left field and at first base. (And, yes, he has also taken the mound.) Despite a marginal .242/.309/.339 career batting line, Pennington has rarely struggled to find work due to his respected glove.
Last winter, though, it proved impossible for Pennington to land a MLB job. He won a spot on the Cincinnati roster to open the year, but managed only four singles and five walks (with 13 strikeouts) in his 34 plate appearances. Now, he’ll head back onto the open market in hopes of finding another organization that can offer a path back to the big leagues.
A’s pick him up?
Released by the worst team in Mlb, you are done.
Actually, the 4th worst team in MLB. White Sox, Orioles, Royals worse.
Just got picked up by a crap team too smarty
St. Louis on Line Three.
He’s nothing more than triple a depth for anybody.
Why year after year the Reds think guys like this deserve to be on the big league roster out of spring training is beyond me. And every year it takes them 6 weeks to figure out what everyone else in the world already knew when these guys were signed in the first place
Well, to your statement, they’ve picked up guys like Alfredo Simon, Dan Straily and Scooter Gennett. You have to play those odds, man.