The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve place first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers on the injured list (retroactive to Wednesday) and assigned corner infielder Jason Vosler to Triple-A Louisville after he went unclaimed on outright waivers. Cincinnati also placed righty Graham Ashcraft on the bereavement list and recalled right-hander Casey Legumina from Louisville. The Reds are off today, so they’ll presumably add a position player to the roster tomorrow in advance of their series opener in Oakland.
Myers was scratched from yesterday’s game due to an illness and missed Tuesday’s contest due to neck spasms. The Reds didn’t list an injury designation or a timetable for his return in today’s announcement. Myers, who signed a one-year deal worth $7.5MM this offseason, has stumbled out to a .222/.292/.321 start with what would be a career-high 34.8% strikeout rate through his first 89 plate appearances.
With Myers and Joey Votto on the shelf, the Reds could turn to catcher Tyler Stephenson at first base with more regularity. The 26-year-old Stephenson has already started three games there and made five total appearances at the position, and Cincinnati is carrying two other catchers in Luke Maile and Curt Casali. Infielder Spencer Steer is another option; he started his first game of the season at first base when Myers was scratched and has made a total of four appearances there. It’s also possible the Reds will call up a first base option from the minors before tomorrow’s game.
With Votto yet to make his 2023 debut, the Reds’ two primary first basemen have been Myers and the now-outrighted Vosler, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week. Vosler got out to a blistering start with the Reds after signing a minor league deal late in the offseason. He cracked three home runs in his first 15 plate appearances but has since fallen into a protracted slump, batting just .106/.160/.128 with 20 strikeouts in his past 50 trips to the plate.
Vosler, 29, has logged big league time in each of the past three seasons. In 258 Major League plate appearances between the Reds and the Giants, he’s a .210/.279/.408 hitter who’s seen time at both infield and both outfield corners. Vosler has also appeared in 345 Triple-A games in his career, posting a vastly superior .272/.344/.485 slash along the way. This is the first outright assignment of Vosler’s career, and he has fewer than three years of MLB service time, so he doesn’t have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll remain with the Reds organization and hope to play his way back onto the 40-man roster at some point.
Interesting career Myers has had. Eleventh season, only four of which he;’s exceeded 88 games. But the seasons he’s been healthy ranged from 146-157. He’s never been particularly good–counting out the weird 2020 season, his highest OPS+ was his rookie year. Never had more than 3.5 BWAR. Made over $90M.
And after signing his big extension with the Padres publicly stated he has no desire to play everyday
no human being on earth would sign an enormous contract, then state publicly his lack of desire to play. that would’ve been national news.
He seems done to me. I always thought he’d crush it in cincy but seems he got there a few seasons to late
whiff…..89 plate appearances……dont bury him quite yet.
I think we’re all just sadly waiting for Votto’s retirement announcement. It won’t be long.
Good, enough of joey votto’s sorry ass.
yeah we are all tired of seeing the best Red’s hitter of all time.. ffs.
Peter Rose retired in 1998.
So Pete played til he was 57? How is he not in the Hall of Fame??
Because the selection committee is racist against him even though he only ever bet on his teams winning.
Swing and a miss
those darn racist committee members!
OPS+:
Votto – 145
Rose – 118
Troll muted
There’s no way he retires. He’s making 25 mil and has 7 more wrapped up in a buy out
Not only will he not retire (since his comment about retiring during this season if he doesn’t perform well was just another hollow, meaningless, Joey Votto Grasp For Attention that he knows that no reporter will ever actually call him out on), but he will likely try to get the Reds to have him on the roster for next season, too- that way he gets the full pay for next season instead of ‘just’ the $7 million buyout. He squeezed every penny he could out of the Reds for this contract, then tried to have it both ways by claiming it was a ‘hometown discount’- it was the 2nd biggest contract in MLB history at the time of signing. He’s not retiring early, he’s not leaving a penny on the table. Votto will say/do almost anything for attention- also explains his stupid social media presence.
Votto will say/do almost anything for attention
Pot meet kettle
riff….excellent!
Wil Myers has around 150 million reasons to pursue free agency when his contract is up.
double header for ace – got the lame ” joey vottos sorry ass” quote AND the just as boring free agency schtick all in the same post. I’m happy for you – I’m guessing you don’t have much else going on…keep up the good work
You can also add his particularly idiotic comment about the selection committee being “racist” against a white dude
Wil Myers is never sniffing a $150 million dollar contract, ever.
Reported for dumbness.
Will Myers will now miss his return to San Diego. Too bad, he would have likely gotten a huge ovation. Maybe they can still announce him despite being injured
No designation of injury or timetable for return, that might not be a coincidence
McLain should have broke camp as reds ss. Bring up him and strand. Let’s get a good look at these kids
Yes let’s waste service time on a season the Reds aren’t going anywhere
Good thing the players don’t have that type of attitude. They wouldn’t have swept the Rangers.
I like how people think they know how the season will turn out after three weeks.
Getting big league experience is never a waste. I’d rather have players that know the score before they are supposedly contending.
However, if the players don’t think they are competing all the time, there is something wrong with the culture.
So call every prospect up and have to have a fire sale and be awful again in 4 years. You have to conserve prospects as a small market team. Also if you think this team has any shot at the playoffs your dumber than you think.
You only have a four year window anyway with a small market team where it all comes together. India and Stephenson are in year three and the three starters in year two.
You have to establish a winning culture in the beginning or you don’t get anywhere. That begins with a belief in yourselves despite the odds. This is why an offseason in which no veteran help in the rotation and no bullpen help was a middle finger to their fiture and the fans.
Obviously you have never been part of a team or a winning culture from your comments.
Obviously you still believe this front office can spend like large markets. Watch Locked on Reds sometime. They Cleary state the smarter small market teams know when to bring up player in order to stay competitive and bringing them all up at one time isn’t it.
With a 82 million payroll, there was plenty of flexibility. They have spent 130 million in the past and enhancing the pitching staff wouldn’t have cost half that if you saw what back end rotation and bullpen guys were getting especially. No one had to spend like a large market.
When you accept mediocrity, that’s what you get, whether in baseball or other work situations.
Wagering CEH callup news is imminent. He would have broken camp with them without the injury
I’m really proud of the Reds on the Myers signing. Excellent move on their part. Strong start and no injuries. Can’t believe they outbid everyone for his services.
He hasn’t been very good so far. Not saying it’s a massive regret, but it sure isn’t as positive as picking up Brandon Drury last year.
I want to see Matt McLain. He is raking in AAA (OPS is like 1.100). Christian Encarnacion-Strand is the other guy who should get promoted soon, but he recently returned from injury. He’s another guy who is raking since he got back and also tore up Spring Training.
Both those guys have looked ready, I can’t wait to see what they do at the ML level. Especially McLain.
Do you think the reds will trade any infielders for pitching? Or do you think they’ll just continue to build and hold off trading anyone?
They said they wanted to trade an IF prospect for an OF prospect. That never happened, unless you count Will Benson from Cleveland (what an overpay). I think they’ll probably hang onto their prospects for now. I doubt they’re all going to stick. Not really a logjam for a couple years. I think they’ll look to draft a pitcher or outfielder this year. They need outfielders.
I called them out all offseason for not upgrading the outfield with MAJOR LEAGUE talent, especially CF. Now we are seeing the result. Friedl has turned out to be a solid player but otherwise there is no one consistent.
Myers when he is injured misses at least a month to three. He is probably playing his last season.
His biggest problem has always been between the ears. Myers lacks the mental toughness for the 162-game grind, and he admittedly lacks the ability to remain focused for the long run. If he feels there’s nothing to play for in CIN, he’ll be happy to sit it out.
A paycheck is sonething to play for as well as future employment.
If that is true, the kid GM didn’t do his due diligence before signing him. I won’t say I’m surprised after watching him sit on his hands all offseason.