The Reds announced Friday that outfielder Jesse Winker has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Fellow outfielder Tyler Naquin will head to the IL in his place due to bruised ribs, thus opening a spot on the active roster. Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Brad Brach, who was designated for assignment Monday, has been released.
Winker, 28, went down with an intercostal strain more than a month ago. His absence from the lineup has clearly been felt, as what was a powerhouse offense for Cincinnati early in the season now ranks 28th in the Majors with 96 runs scored over the past 30 days. Obviously, there’s more at play than just Winker’s injury with such a glaring downturn, but he’s been a huge part of the Reds lineup, batting .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs, 32 doubles and a triple through 481 plate appearances.
The 30-year-old Naquin was one of the Reds’ best hitters early in the season and, after a prolonged slump, heated back up for a blistering three week stretch to close out the month of August. From Aug. 11-30, he turned in a ridiculous .420/.474/.812 batting line with six homers, seven doubles and a triple through 76 plate appearances. He’s been banged up recently, however, missing much of the past week after a collision with teammate Jose Barrero. Naquin’s IL stint is retroactive to Sept. 14, so he can return in a week’s time if his ribs have healed sufficiently.
Brach, 35, was designated for assignment Monday after a rough stretch out of the Cincinnati ’pen. He got out to a brilliant start with the Reds, firing 20 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. His past 15 outings, however, have been an immense struggle. He’s totaled just 10 innings in that time and been tagged for 16 runs on 17 hits and nine walks with nine strikeouts. He missed a month of action himself due to a shoulder impingement, so it’s certainly possible he wasn’t pitching at 100 percent during that rapid downturn.
Cincinnati is 3-7 over its past 10 games and has lost possession of an NL Wild Card spot in recent days. The division-rival Cardinals hold a one-game lead over the Reds for that second spot, and the Padres are also a half-game up on the Reds as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive.
When your best reliever is Mychal Givens, I think you need to revamp your bullpen for next year. You aren’t making any playoffs with him as your best reliever. Should of kept Iglesias
Ya I never understood that move. Must have been a salary dump.
Not sure what you’ve been watching the past few weeks, but the bullpen has not been the problem. They are not hitting whatsoever.
Not really talking about recently, just in general the Reds bullpen has blown alot of games this year. Lorenzen hurt, Garret being beyond terrible, and having to rely on guys past their prime like Brach, Doolittle, and Hembree to do the heavy lifting just isn’t good enough if you want to be a contender. Same reason why the Phillies won’t make the playoffs this year
Welcome back, Jessie. Regards, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
Baseball is a funny game sometimes. Reds lose 2 of 3 to the Pirates and could very well sweep the Dodgers this weekend. One game down, two to go.
Jose Torres as the Reds #22 prospect is a joke. He’s top 15 if not top 10.
Jose Torres will be happy to know his agent is putting in a good word for him.
Poor Brad