Reds infielder Matt McLain underwent surgery to repair the labrum and some damaged cartilage in his left shoulder yesterday, president of baseball operations Nick Krall announced this morning (X link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). A timeline for his recovery has yet to be determined, though the Reds are hopeful he’ll be able to return to the roster at some point this season.
McLain, the 17th overall draft pick back in 2021, made his big league debut last year and instantly cemented himself as a building block in Cincinnati. He appeared in 89 games and took 403 plate appearances, turning in an outstanding .290/.357/.507 slash line (128 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 23 doubles, four triples and a 14-for-19 showing in stolen bases. McLain’s 28.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate were both worse than average, which, when coupled with a sky-high .385 average on balls in play, created some reason to forecast a bit of regression. Given how strong his overall performance was, however, even if his rate stats took a step back in ’24, McLain would still likely have been a well above-average performer.
In 2023, McLain split his time between the Reds’ middle infield spots, though that was due largely to injuries for fellow top prospect Elly De La Cruz. With De La Cruz healthy in 2024, McLain had been ticketed for everyday work at second base, pushing 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India into more of a utility role.
India now figures to see quite a bit more time back at the keystone, although Cincinnati’s recent acquisition of infielder Santiago Espinal gives them a superior defensive option if the club still wants to get India more work at first base, at designated hitter or perhaps even in left field. The mere fact that the Reds proactively acquired Espinal seemed at the time to be a harbinger of bad news regarding McLain, and that’s unfortunately proven to be the case.
Much has been made of Cincinnati’s wealth of infield talent, but the injury to McLain and an 80-game PED suspension for Noelvi Marte have thinned things out considerably. Some pundits and onlookers questioned the wisdom of signing Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45MM deal with such an enviable crop of young infielders, but circumstances have changed and Candelario now looks more like a vital piece of the infield mix than an arguably superfluous luxury addition. He’ll take the primary role at the hot corner, with De La Cruz at short, Espinal/India at second and Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first base. Versatile Spencer Steer can back up at any of those four spots, but he’s expected to function as the Reds’ primary left fielder in 2024.
The 24-year-old McLain will receive big league service time and pay while rehabbing his shoulder on the injured list. He finished the 2023 season at 140 days of service, meaning he’s still controllable for six full seasons. He’ll quite likely be a Super Two player following the 2025 season, positioning him to be arbitration-eligible four times rather than three, but he’ll remain under Reds control all the way through the 2029 campaign.
Yikes!
Good luck coming back from labrum surgery in less than 6 months. If he does, he’ll be a DH only. You really can’t throw full throttle after labrum repair surgery for at least 9 months. If he only had labrum cleanup surgery (trimming off the frayed part of the labrum) then he could come back sooner but it sounds like he had his labrum tear repaired.
It’s not his throwing side
My wife the nurse grimaced when I told her what the surgery was for. Just saying.
Thank you Dr.Google
McClain and Garrett Mitchell, two UCLA players gone in one week. Both 1st round picks, a year apart.
And both had a labrum repair. Mitchell came back from his in under 6 months from his April of ‘23 surgery last season and actually played the last week of the season after a rehab in the minors.
Now I’m sad again…
That hurts, casts a dark cloud over Opening Day tomorrow. Look how important the India 2 yr deal is now and he gets to slide back into everyday 2b.
Keeping India and signing Candelario look like fantastic moves now that we will be without Marte for 80 and McLain for a major portion, if not all of 2024.
India is under team control through 2026 regardless, but they did lock in his salary for 2 years so that will be a benefit if he’s back to his ROY form. The decision to keep all their IF depth and add Candelario is definitely looking wise.
If you do the math, they still have more infield starters than they need without the money they wasted on Candelario. That doesn’t even take into account the tons of prospects still on the way.
I will now describe anyone whose best fielding attribute is “Well, at least he can hit” as an unfield starter
Maybe your math is different than mine. We don’t have any extra infielders at this point.
And the Reds top infield prospect, Arroyo, also has had season ending surgery.
I call them “a DH waiting to happen.” Pretty much describes Candelario.
Of course you still find a way to make this about your disagreement with the GM, this one
I agree. If you look wise only because of a rash of unforeseen injuries, then maybe you weren’t wise at all, just lucky. I agree (still) the money could have been better spent on another quality starter. They always drop like flies and that can be expected unlike the IF situation. Steer can play 3B as well as India.. I do think they were wise to hold onto India. He is proven when healthy.
Is it possible they knew about Marte’s suspension before we did?
Even though Santiago has a .273 ML AVG and a.331 ML OBP (careerwise) -, it’s ludicrous to include Espinalin part of that “DH waiting to happen” group. Signing India a couple years, signing Candelario for 3, and aquiring Espinal (with 2 option and controlable for 3) are all part of Krall addressing the McClain, Marte, & Arrroyo loss. And very well addressed I would say.
Candy won’t win a gold glove, but he is solidly average.
Reading is a skill.
Espinal is a backup infielder and you all know it, a just in case guy. If he becomes Matt Reynolds 2.0 and/or shows up as a DH, then the organization has lost their collective minds.
Do tell, who are these “them” that you speak of? What extra infield starters do the Reds have?
I actually seen someone call Krall a “genius” for this move today. I mean all you can do is laugh at this point.
When they win around 85 games and finish anywhere from two to five games out of the playoffs again and waste another year of these kids window because he didn’t do what was needed, some folks here will still think he’s a genius and accept the latest line of bull excrement excuses they are fed.
They undoubtedly did.
@This one, No McLain and no Marte and still you claim Candelario is wasted money? You could not be more clueless.
And now no Arroyo
The numbers tell a different story. This is why you shouldn’t call someone clueless while you are defending Candalerio.
Man this not only sucks for my fantasy squad but sucks for the game. Kid has serious talent and the Reds are an exciting young club. Hopefully he gets to come back this year.
Reds have an abundance of infielders they need to trade their area of strength toward shoring up weaknesses – having too many is not a solution although depth is great but too much depth is wasted opportunity
Have you seen the news?
lol, right. It’s a real kick in the pants especially when paired with Arroyo’s surgery. If there is a long term issue with McLain, Arroyo would have likely stepped into his role.
Hopefully both surgeries correct the issues, and returns them both to full strength.
Bro, did you read the article?
Labrum surgery always carries risk of a permanent loss of skills.
Geez.
At least it’s on his left (non-throwing) side. Definite risk of a long term effect at the plate but fortunately not so much in the field.
I don’t see how he can potentially return this season, as stated in the narrative. Lam repair is typically a minimum of 6-months, and oftentimes longer.
To your other point, after mine was repaired I could never throw the same again. Hopefully he doesn’t suffer the same fate as Andujar.
Agreed, getting back onto the MLB roster this season doesn’t seem very realistic.
Eugino Suarez never returned to full form after his shoulder surgery. He hit 270 w 50 homers before he got hurt
We saw how the shoulder injury affected Votto.
Votto was about 38 and Suarez 28-29 when their shoulder surgeries occurred. McClain is 24- but you don’t think that’s an important difference?
I don’t know doctor, do tell though.
lol labral surgery doesn’t mean you will lose skill. A labrum is a piece of cartilage that goes within the glenohumeral and helps with the overall stability of the joint. Sure when he comes back maybe he is rusty, but it is not like he forgot how to hit/field/throw. It is his non-throwing shoulder to that as well, so that is good news. As long as the surgery and rehab process go well and he is feeling good, he should have a successful return. Muscle memory is a crazy thing, and once he gets those reps in, his body will remember how to do things and his skillset will be fine. The good news is that, he should be able to continue throwing, running and maybe taking ground balls etc rather quickly if things like his symptoms decrease and his range of motion & strength increase.. But according to research, cartilage can take up to 12 weeks to fully heal, so he probably wouldn’t really start hitting or even think about diving etc until past that point. But good news is that it doesn’t sound like his Rotator Cuff was not repaired, so that is good news from a return standpoint. . .
I guess I’ll find a new second baseman for my fantasy team.
Also, good luck to Matt McLain.
I had feared this. He will be out significant time and the rehab not easy. I hope he recovers well and quickly.
I am grateful that the front office has given us depth in the infield for sure. Looking forward to the upcoming season!
Why does it seem we have way more injuries than in the old days.. I am 75 and don’t remember this many position player injuries in the days of the Big Red Machine and prior. The pitchers were injured pretty often back then (Gullett and Nolan)., but not the position players. I have to wonder if it might be the weight training currently going on.
There may have been guys who tried to play through things – Pete Ward is an example I can think of; never regained his top form.
“I am 75 and I don’t remember …”
I hear you.
LOL. Sometimes I don’t remember or hear. Especially when it is my wife. At our age they never know when you are faking.
Appears that the Reds brass were well prepared for these injuries. Kudos to them.
I agree. They didn’t trade away any of the youngsters too soon..They might lose value on some of them if they don’t pan out, but so be it. That is the chance you take with development of high potential young players.
Still no mention how he got hurt. I hate how reds management stays mum whenever they can get away with it. If he needed this surgery last summer – then why wasn’t that determined then ??
I remember Matt saying the injury was the result of diving for a ground ball.
I think Arroyo’s was diving back to a base. I never got hurt diving for a ball. I think it was because I also played football and you learn how to roll when you go down. There is an art to it.
Worst media relations dept in baseball.
Reds can’t catch a break. Injuries suck…
Jesus christ what is in the water at cinncinatti?? Last year that had almost 2 guys deep at every position on the dang infield. Now they are barely trying to cobble together an actual lineup. Strength and conditioning dept need to be put on notice as well. How are all these guys getting injured !?!?! Too much of a coincidence.
Any blame is squarely on the Arizona desert. Not the legendary healing waters of the Ohio.
How did you spell Cincinnati THAT wrong?
Called the injury. If there is a shoulder problem and the details seem vague and there is a question as to whether it will be a short term injury or a longer surgical rehab than always look at the labrum tear possibility (even if only one of those is the case). It rarely fails. Most other shoulder injuries are straightforward reports (because they are obvious on MRIs). Ashame for Reds.
Just saw line up for opening day.Benson in two hole and Steer 6th? Is this a joke?
Fraley cleanup?