The Reds have signed infielder Taylor Motter to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Motter has been assigned to the Louisville Bats, the club’s Triple-A team.
Motter, 32, played in 143 total games over the 2016-2018 seasons, spending time with the Rays, Mariners and Twins. He brought some speed and defensive versatility, swiping 13 bags in that stretch while lining up defensively at every position on the diamond except for catcher and center field. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide much with the bat, hitting just .191/.263/.312 in that stretch, a 57 wRC+.
In 2019, he lingered in the minors and then went to the KBO in 2020. Last year, he bounced around and got into 16 MLB games, split between the Rockies and Red Sox, producing a similar batting line to his previous numbers. However, he fared quite well in Triple-A last year. In 82 games, he hit .313/.436/.668 for a 167 wRC+. If he could carry any of that up to the big leagues with him this year, the Reds would surely be very grateful.
Cincy has been hit hard by injuries in the early part of the season, particularly on the infield. Mike Moustakas, Jose Barrero, Jonathan India, Donovan Solano and Max Schrock are all currently on the injured list. Motter will spend some time in Triple-A and try to earn his way into the club’s plans.
The Reds are bad mmkay.
At least find a player that has a little bit of a clue with the bat.
AAAA superstar
“Hello Motter, hello father
You’d be better off in Grenada
Reds baseball isn’t very entertaining
And the only fun we have is when it’s raining”
It all starts at the top. Ownership and management are both a joke. Not much for Reds fans to hang their hat on. The minor league pitching might produce ok but the hitting is a long way off. A couple of terrible contracts still on the books(Moose and Votto) at least for the Reds.
Hate to say it, but the Reds are probably better off with Moustakas on the IL. If he’s the devil they know, CIN fans are def ready for the devil they don’t know.
I have been saying the same since early last season. It is addition by subtraction but at a severe financial cost.
Joey Votto’s contract may be excessive but, at least he’s staying on the field and playing hard.
I agree with that. He certainly earned his contract last season. He is just a fish out of the water on the current team.
Votto’s contract wasn’t bad, it just pays the most while he is in decline. The structure is unfortunate for the current team, but everyone knows these long term contracts look bad at the end. The Moustakas contract was garbage from day 1, and their signings and trades during the off season made little sense.
Tanker, Taylor Motter, sign.
This might be the most useless signing of 2022.
Anyone here want to play AAA? Seems the Reds are signing anyone….
The last 2 signings have been useless. Both players have zero chance to contribute to the big league team.
If things go well, this team could beat the 1962 Mets – at losing.
Motter pop as we called him in Seattle. He was a well liked player even if my 11 year old lazy but smart daughter could outhit him