The Reds announced a pair of minor league deals today, one of them going to left-hander Alex Young and the other to infielder Richie Martin. Both players have received invitations to major league Spring Training.
Young, 29, was a second round pick of the Diamondbacks in the 2015 draft. He had a solid debut in the majors in 2019, throwing 83 1/3 innings with a 3.56 ERA. His 20.3% strikeout rate was below average but he limited walks to a 7.7% rate and got grounders at a 44.4% clip.
The next couple of seasons were a struggle, however, with the southpaw posting ERAs of 5.44 in 2020 and 6.58 the year after. The Diamondbacks put him on waivers in that latter campaign, with Young getting claimed by Cleveland. The Guardians then passed him through waivers in the offseason but he pitched well in the minors and got selected back to the roster in July. He only made one appearance for Cleveland before getting designated for assignment but the Giants liked him enough to send cash considerations to the Guards and put Young into 24 games.
Young got some good results with the Giants and finished the year with a 2.36 ERA over 26 2/3 innings. His 18.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate were both subpar but he got grounders at a strong 54.2% rate. Despite that performance, he was non-tendered by the Giants after the season.
Right now, the Reds have Reiver Sanmartin as their only lefty on the 40-man that’s projected to be in the bullpen. If Young can make his way onto the roster, he can provide them with some roster flexibility since he still has one option year remaining. He can also be retained for future seasons via arbitration since he has just under three years of MLB service time.
As for Martin, 28, he was a first round selection of the A’s in 2015. Prospect evaluators have long praised his defense, speed and athleticism but raised concerns about his work with the bat. The A’s weren’t satisfied enough with his progress to give him a roster spot after 2018, allowing the Orioles to nab him with the first pick in that year’s Rule 5 draft.
Martin stuck on the rebuilding O’s roster that year, allowing them to obtain full control over his rights. However, the concerns about his bat have come to fruition. Through 447 plate appearances in the majors thus far, he’s hit just .212/.261/.311 for a wRC+ of 50. He’s been better in the minors but still not very exciting. In 80 Triple-A games last year, he hit .250/.341/.380 for a wRC+ of 96, though he did steal 29 bases in that time. The O’s outrighted him off the roster in September and he elected free agency at season’s end.
For the Reds, there’s little harm in taking a flier and seeing if Martin can find another gear this year. They are currently set to send another glove-first option to their shortstop position in Kevin Newman. It’s expected that prospect Elly De La Cruz will eventually take over as the club’s shortstop of the future, though he’s only 21 and has yet to reach Triple-A. If Martin can take a step forward at the plate, there would be little preventing the Reds from giving him a shot in the big leagues. If he earns his way onto the roster, he still has one option year remaining and can be retained for a while via arbitration since he has between two and three years of major league service time.
Jose Barrero is the Reds’ current young glove-first SS and it seems like they’ll probably give him another run this season. I believe Kevin Newman is probably their backup plan behind Barrero and rookie Spencer Steer at 3B.
They gave up a nice arm for Newman to be a backup plan.
Right. Newman is the starter. Reds know they can’t go into start of season w barrero- he can’t take a walk and struck out 76 of 165 at bats.
Newman is a bounce back candidate too. Watch out for him !
Newman (or almost anyone) is better offensively than Barrero. But I can’t see them keeping Barrero on the active roster just to sit on the bench. And if they option him there’s no backup SS.
With the shift gone, SS defense will be much more valuable this season. And this is really Barerro’s last chance before he gets overtaken by Cruz, Marte etc. My guess is they give Barrero one last shot at SS and rotate Newman around the infield.
Don’t you first need to have something to bounce back to?
Barrero has a MUCH higher upside than Newman. My hope is they give Barrero at least a half season to see if he can settle in and prove he can be a big league hitter. Point is we are not contending this year no matter who is playing SS
He was probably going to back up Oneil Cruz if Pittsburgh held onto him. I am glad they got something out of Newman and at Reds expense. He’s not flashy defensively and won’t hit many highlight reels. He’s still pretty good defensively and won’t disappoint on the defensive end. Now offense, his downs are more than ups. When he gets hot he sees the ball well, and it’s exciting to watch. When he is struggling, you want to beat your head off the wall. Clint Barnes was another solid SS defensively, but had below average bat. Newman is so similar to Barnes that you think they were long lost brothers.
Barmes was a waay better player than Newman. 15 WAR career, 5x that of Newman.
Little late here, but Barmes played in Colorado and that helped him 5x more than Newman in Pittsburgh. Barmes came to Pittsburgh and was a .200 hitter and average defender. I don’t Bae everything off of paper, if I did, I would be broke for consistently picking Phillies, Padres, or Angels to make it to the World Series and become champs. When they spend money like it’s toilet paper, all the writers put them on the radar to be serious contenders. So again, Barmes on paper may look better than newman, but they are so similar that it’s sickening
The Red’s are sad.
Good for Young, non-sense for Martin
Looks like they got their replacement for Xander!
LOL, it’s just the Reds…… No Sox
I’m drunk on my honeymoon. Sorry fellas.
Go Richie Martin!!!
I always liked him and wish him well
Yeah, but they kept playing his one song over and over and over again….
De La Cruz will be ready this season along w McLain. Reds need to move one or other to center field.
De La Cruz has an Eric Davis vibe around him and they moved him to center so I think that’s the way it will go.
Those guys probably won’t be ready until late in the year though. A lot of baseball to be played before then.
They could have fielded a decent roster until then if they wanted to. They had plenty of opportunity to add cost effective options while they were still out there but the kid GM sat on his hands.
As expected….chapman and another outfielder would make a decent offseason though.
I’m w ya on Cruz to center ! He’s seems to be most athletic of the group
I’ll double down on that, and say EDLC to CF, and McLain to RF. Marte can take SS next season if Barrero continues to struggle.
I keep reading Arroyo will be our long term SS with Marte moving to third. EDLC in center. But we all know what happens to plans when the first bullet flies.
I don’t disagree with EDLC to CF, I thought that would be an excellent move. But from what I hear, he’s more likely to be the SS with McClain taking over in CF because he played alot there in college. I’m also hearing, that Arroyo could be the trade chip they’ve mentioned they’re willing to give up for an equally talented minor league outfielder. I hate that, because he could be the most talented SS prospect they have behind EDLC.
EDLC first needs to cut down on his strike outs. He struck out nearly 40% of the time in A &AA last season. He may be a good Major league hitter someday, but he has a long way to go before he is ready for the big leagues.
Could be a pretty good battle between SanMartin & Young for Reds LOOGY. Both prearb, both with an option.
SanMartin is a lock in the pen, as a reliever he was one of the most reliable arms they had. I hope Young is good enough to compete for a spot in the pen. There are a lot of question marks going into 23 with guys coming off injury.
Loogys are a thing of the past with needing to face three hitters. They have to be able to face both lefties and righties now.
I would like to see another left hander make the pen but there were MAJOR LEAGUE options available and your projected payroll is 80 million.
More guys to throw against the dartboard and hope they stick. Pathetic management.
Can’t argue with that @This one, the Reds completely screwed over the fans with this lack of spending.
Don’t forget that both are terrible major league pitchers.
More who gives a care zero upside pickups. One day this team might get some major league talent not washed up failed garbage.
Living La Vida Loco the Reds are
The Reds continue to shock the world with these signings.
Anybody seen Richie??