Reds Select Austin Wynns, Edwin Ríos

The Reds announced that catcher Luke Maile has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a herniated disc in his back. Outfielder Jake Fraley was placed on the family medical emergency list. To take those two roster spots, the club has selected catcher Austin Wynns and infielder Edwin Ríos. They had one open 40-man spot but opened another by designating infielder/outfielder Levi Jordan for assignment.

Maile, 33, was visibly injured in yesterday’s game. In video provided by Bally Sports Cincinnati on X, he can be seen limping and clutching at his back while running towards first base. It’s unclear how serious the issue is but the Reds have decided to let him sit out for the next ten days at least.

The injury will get Wynns selected to the roster for the third time in the past two weeks. He was first added when Tyler Stephenson was hurt with a day-to-day issue, but removed once Stephenson felt better. Then Stephenson needed to go on the paternity list, getting Wynns a second stint. When Stephenson came back, Wynns was bumped off again and now returns once more.

Every time he’s been nudged off the roster, Wynns has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment. As a player with more than three years of service time but less than five, he has the right to reject outright assignments, but doing so means walking away from whatever money is left on his contract. He signed a split deal with the Reds in the offseason that pays him $900K in the majors and $300K in the minors and seemingly wants to keep that on the table for himself.

Now he’ll presumably get at least a stretch of 10 days to serve as Stephenson’s backup while Maile is out. Wynns has hit just .229/.276/.331 in his career but is generally considered to be a competent defender.

Ríos, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He’s taken 203 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level this year, striking out in 28.6% of those but also drawing walks at an 11.8% clip and hitting 11 home runs. He has a .243/.340/.486 line for the year, which translates to a 107 wRC+.

That has generally been the recipe with Ríos, who has previously been with the Dodgers and Cubs. He has 21 home runs in just 325 big league plate appearances but has also been punched out at a 33.5% clip. He’ll provide the Reds with a potent left-handed power bat but also one with some holes in it. Defensively, he’s mostly played first and third base but also the outfield corners.

Noelvi Marté has been at third base most of the time lately, with Jeimer Candelario and Spencer Steer sharing first base and the designated hitter slot. Steer can also play a bit of left field, but the Reds have some other options on the grass. Even with Fraley away from the club, they have Stuart Fairchild, Nick Martini, Will Benson and Blake Dunn as capable outfielders. Ríos is out of options but can be retained beyond this season via arbitration if he manages to hang onto his roster spot through the end of the year.