Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to some back pain, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reported yesterday. Today, manager Terry Francona tells Sheldon that the backstop is headed for an MRI.
“He’s going to be fine,” Francona said yesterday. “It just didn’t seem to make sense to push something through.” While Francona downplayed the severity of the issue yesterday, the fact that Stephenson is going for an MRI today suggests that it perhaps didn’t improve as hoped in the past 24 hours or so.
Ideally, the MRI will find nothing and Stephenson can be back in the lineup soon, but it will be a situation worth monitoring since the Reds don’t have a ton of depth behind the plate. Stephenson and Jose Trevino are the only two catchers on the 40-man roster at the moment. Trevino is an excellent defender but has hit just .236/.275/.362 in his career, production which translates to a wRC+ of 74.
Stephenson, on the other hand, isn’t well regarded behind the plate but has hit .267/.343/.427 in his career for a 106 wRC+. He is likely to take the bulk of the time at the catching position, though Trevino would have to step up if Stephenson needed to miss any time. That would be an upgrade defensively but a downgrade offensively.
The club would also need to figure out who to add to the roster alongside Trevino. Austin Wynns is a veteran who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. His defense is generally ranked as adequate but he has only hit .230/.277/.332 in his 673 big league plate appearances, leading to a 65 wRC+. He played for the Reds a bit last year and they re-signed him to a minor league deal, so they clearly like him as a depth option.
The chart will look fairly thin if Stephenson needs time on the injured list, though some other players might shake loose as camps break. Players like Tomás Nido (Tigers), Reese McGuire (Cubs) and Luke Maile (Royals) are currently NRIs with other clubs and might be available as final roster decisions are made in the coming weeks. Though for the Reds, they best-case scenario would just be a healthy Stephenson.
Ah it must be the start of another baseball season. Similar to the swallows returning to Capistrano, the injuries begin returning to Reds baseball
I know it feels that way but you can make this statement for every single team. When you follow a team it’s always at the forefront the injuries you see than deal with. Could be worse, Yankees lost their ace for the season.
It is the same thing all over again.. The Reds players can’t break wind without getting hurt. I still say it is all related to weight training or something similar. Obviously, they are doing something wrong. If other teams are having the same injury problems, they are doing something wrong as well. Injuries are happening too often.
If it comes to a worse case scenario, Maile (if available) would be a good add because he’s familiar with the staff..
That stinks big time as they have developed NO catchers outside Stephenson and the kid in A ball probably won’t even stay there.
“ … and kid in A ball probably won’t even stay there”.
Huh?
The kid, Alfredo Duno, is the team’s #7 prospect and held his own in full season Daytona after being promoted at age 18. A broken rib ended his season in late May, but he proved he belonged before that.
I hope he can recover soon. I also hope it’s not his lumbar. Being he’s a catcher. There’s a chance it is his lower back. That’ll be some of the worst pain you’ll ever go through if anyone here ever has back pain.
Might as well take it slow with Stephenson. The back is the last thing a catcher needs to be nagging him.
Their pitching staff needs a true defensive anchor behind the plate, and they don’t have one. 2025 season hasn’t even started and it’s already unravelling.
Too many injuries season after season. There is a root to the problem and the Reds need to figure it out. Many players are starting to be paid upwards of 20 million per season and they can’t stay off the injury list. It is starting to look like paying them that kind of money is a poor, high risk investment for the teams.
There are going to be a lot of options out there over the next couple weeks. I’d imagine the Reds backup catcher on Opening Day is someone not currently on the roster.
Chadwick Tromp may get shuffled out in Atlanta. James McCann and Yasmani Grandal are still out there.
Given the lack of catching depth on the farm, the Reds might want to consider trading for an “almost ready” prospect. They could give him big league reps for a month (hopefully) and then send him down to Triple A.
The Twins, White Sox, and Royals are all teams that I know of that have an abundance of catching prospects. Maybe one of the Reds’ mid-level middle infield or pitching prospects could pry one away.