The Reds announced this morning that they’ve designated outfielder Jake Fraley for assignment. Outfielder Will Benson was recalled to replace Fraley on the active roster. Right-hander Connor Phillips was also recalled to the MLB roster after the club optioned southpaw Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A last night.
Fraley, 30, began his career with the Mariners and was shipped to Cincinnati as part of the trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Seattle. Since making his Reds debut in 2022, Fraley has been a roughly league average bat for the club. He’s hit .260/.336/.421 (105 wRC+) in 362 games for the club over the past four seasons and has never posted a wRC+ below 96 over a full season. He’s proven to be a solid baserunner as well, with 20-steal campaigns in both 2023 and ’24, though his defense has left him mostly limited to being a middling defender in the outfielder corners.
The biggest flaw in Fraley’s game is his massive platoon split, however. He’s virtually unplayable against lefties, with a .187/.263/.260 (44 wRC+) slash line against southpaws in 137 plate appearances during his time with the Reds. That’s offset by his solid .269/.346/.441 (113 wRC+) line against right-handed pitchers, of course, but Fraley is also in a 1-for-17 slump since the start of August and is hitting a lackluster .226/.305/.377 (83 wRC+) dating all the way back to June 20. That’s not substantially better than Benson, who sports an 80 wRC+ in 201 plate appearances this year. Perhaps the Reds are hoping that giving Benson opportunities down the stretch will get him into position to take over Fraley’s role as a left-handed platoon outfielder for 2026, when Fraley would’ve been due a raise on his $3.125MM salary for 2025 via arbitration and likely found himself non-tendered come November.
As for Phillips, the righty was once a consensus top-100 prospect but suffered a brutal season at Triple-A last year as he walked 15.3% of his opponents in 19 starts. He’s converted to relief this year and done better for himself with a 2.84 ERA in 38 innings, though his 14.6% walk rate remains elevated. He’s made just four appearances at the big league level this year but will now get an opportunity to try and harness his high-octane stuff as the Reds shuffle out La Sorsa, who surrendered a three-run homer to infielder Andruw Monasterio in the 11th inning of yesterday’s brutal 6-5 loss to Milwaukee.
Is it just me or does Fraley’s stats look like it’s good enough to stay in the majors?
Probably but he’s always injured and the Reds were going to non tender him this offseason any way. Hyperextended a knee last night after misplaying another ball in the OF. Good riddance
I like Fraley, but not going to keep his 40 man spot this offseason. Definitely a non-tender candidate, Time to move on with many outfielders/ outfield prospects in the organization.
I agree. Good enough for a starter in the mlb
Fraley is good enough to play in the majors for a non-contender. The move of Marte to RF sealed this deal. Reds need to solidify their OF and BP next season and get a Rolen-esque player to come in and teach the young guys how to be a leader. I’d look for them to cut Martinez, and with the Candelario cut, have around 30 mil to spend and get a bopper.
Actually it was the acquisition of Andujar which made it possible, they are in a playoff hunt they need a true backup CF’er on the roster (Benson).
@bleedreds The Candelario cut doesn’t free up anything at all. They are still on the hook for his $13M next year and then a $3M buyout in 2027. The only thing that would lessen that would be if he’s on a major league club, they’d save $760K of that.
They will have about $29M freed up from Nick Martinez and Emilio Pagan though.
He’s a platoon player with little power, he’s a 4/5th outfielder at best.
@SFan It’s curious. Either the Reds are really high on Will Benson, there’s an injury, or they’re trying to dump salary ($3 million this year heading into arbitration). Or all of the above.
Option #4: Hector Rodriguez. He needs a 40man spot by December and is earning a ML opportunity
Somebody was high when they dumped Fraley for Benson for sure. But Howdy Doody is still trying to justify trading two second round picks for him despite the eye test.
Not that either is going to be a difference maker, but at least Fraley doesn’t strike out half the time.
He’s been mostly league average his entire career. He doesn’t make hardly any errors, but hasn’t played a full season.
I would be surprised if he got past the Guardians on the waiver wire. They can pretty easily platoon him with Angel Martinez (his wRC+ vs lefties is like 140, vs RHP it’s like 50) and could definitely use the offense in the outfield.
Strong-side platoon player, so yes, but maybe not someone you want to spend money on.
Don’t think Fraley deserved a DFA. But while they’re at it, go ahead and send McLain down to Louisville.
Seriously, can we try Stewart instead and see if Matty can get his groove back with the bats…
McClain is coming back from an injury. See how he does in the remaining season and ST. The kids in AAA have taken exactly 0 ABs in the big leagues and have no guarantee they will rake. Reds need defense and offense and McClain is a good defender. We all know what wins championships. Just ask Trent Dilfer.
Except McLain hasn’t been that great a defender this year. Put him in AAA, call up Stewart, try McLain out again next year. They’re playing for a playoff spot right now and don’t need any dead weight to hamper them. It’s not the time to wait and see how he does the rest of the year. That’s what the previous 4-5 months were for.
Could’ve moved him to the 60-day IL to keep him as emergency depth if they make it to mid-October.
That’s a little harsh after he rolled his ankle last night against the Brewers
I am surprised, but looking at the numbers it was probably time. He is 30 and his best days are likely behind him. Benson has the tools to be better than Fraley, this will be his last chance to show it.
Fraley could be a solid starting OF for somebody, but the injuries never stop coming for this guy. That ankle roll will probably take him out for the rest of the year, but someone will pick him up this winter no doubt.
😂😂😂
My app is giving me fits today, sorry that wasn’t meant for your comment
He has had too many chances already.
I agree on both Fraley , Benson and probably Hines as well.. Bring up Rodriguez and lets see what he can do. Sit or send down McClain and bring up Stewart. Anyone being realistic knows we should be preparing for next season. If we make the playoffs, we aren’t going far with all the injuries, holes in the lineup and the BP as well. We should be concerned why CES, McClain, Petty and others aren’t panning out. I also would not etch Steer in stone at 1B. Not enough offensive production. The team has entirely too many injuries.
😂😂😂
I agree. Time to move on from aging league average corner outfielder. Always enjoyed him and his presence but time to see what these younger guys can do with those at bats. Hines and Benson both have high ceilings.
Benson done hit his head on the ceiling, which seems to be .210-.220.
As far as Hinds, they always bring him up and sit him on the bench. That doesn’t do him much good.
Pretty sure niether of them are 27/28 yet. That’s typical prime of career. Plus Rodriguez is knocking on the door for next season so this is last chance either guy will have to stick on the roster. This is the right move.
And yeah, reds be calling up guys streaking then bench 🤦♂️ hopefully Francona puts and end to that non sense.
There has to be more to the story /during the game on Saturday Fraley severely fouled a ball off the top of his foot, which kept him down for a few mins. Then a short time later he hyper-extended his knee while attempting a diving catch.
Seems like a roster manipulation move, with his agent’s sign off. That or Fraley blew up at the FO in the clubhouse after the game (a strong possibility)…
how is that a”strong possibility ? ” you literally are making stuff up. ridiculous statement
Confirmed – Fraley blew up on the FO and they granted his clubhouse demand to be released….
confirmed: you’re an idiot
Roster manipulation?? They could have just IL’d him to free up a spot. Thats nearly as funny as your hyperbole about blowing up on FO….
I’ve always liked fraley, felt bad for him last year. I hope he turns it around in 2026
After last night game I was expecting a) Fraley heading again to IL and Benson recalled b) LaSorsa being optioned and Philips recalled and c) McLain being optioned and Stewart promoted.
Stewart would need to be added to the 40-man. I would’ve thought they’d put Fraley directly on the 60-day IL to open a spot, but the DFA accomplishes the same thing.
Stewart does not need a 40 man sopot until December of 2026. Reds will not add him until beginningof 2026 season.
We’re talking about adding Stewart to the MLB roster. Obviously he doesn’t need to be on the 40-man yet unless they want to call him up.
Will Sal be a September call up?
Maybe, but then he wouldn’t be elegible for the post-season roster, if that’s the case. In order to do so must be recalled by Sep-1st.
Me personally…I would bring up Stewart and send McLain down to Louisville to get a reset or a kick in the pants, however you want to phrase it. We used to say a check up from the neck up just like Chris Welsh does. I think somewhere he lost confidence or his swing got messed up with the surgery. He doesn’t seem to cut it loose like before, he is not hitting the ball hard and with power like before.
I also would have brought up Rodriguez instead of Benson. You always go with a hot hand, but you also have to play them while they’re hot.
Why burn an option year at this point on McLain?
@Tigers…Who cares about the option year (he still has all three)? It would likely keep him from reaching arbitration this winter, which is a plus for the Reds (assuming he’s ever able to rebound to his 2023 season).
They could have just waited and non-tendered him allowing him to become a free agent. This move seems to clearly be about feeing up a spot on MLB roster.
Just because a player reaches arbitration does bot mean the team has to keep them.
Not reaching arb as a Super 2 this offseason (and him returning to being a good player) could potentially save the Reds millions of dollars over 3 arb years.
Either way they could have just non tendered him during offseason. They have to pay remainder of contract this season, so again this does not seem as though it was a move to save $ as none is being saved.
@Tigers are you replying to me? Are you talking about Matt or Jake? I’m having a conversation with you regarding Matt and I think you’re having one with me about Jake?
Yes, sorry I was referring to Fraley.
Is McLain that close to the 22% that sending him down would make a difference for Super 2?
If McLain stays up all year, he’ll have 2.140 of service entering the off-season. In 14 of the past 15 seasons that’d be enough to qualify for Super 2. If he were optioned yesterday (and they hung onto Fraley or someone else) and he stayed on optional assignment through the rest of this season he would enter the offseason with 2.112. Which has never been enough to qualify.
And interestingly enough, Will Benson will now likely finish with 3 years of service (if he stays up the rest of the year). Where as had he stayed on assignment for just four more days he would have failed to reach 3 years (still would have qualified for ARB as a Super 2). This isn’t that big of a deal, because it’s less likely Benson sticks around for 6 years. But it could come back to hurt the Reds if he all of a sudden figures it out, as it’ll take him from 4 years of team control down to 3.
Thanks for the info there. Yeah Id be more concerned with McLain’s service time opposed to Benson’s. But ultimately they are fighting for a Wild Card spot and focus should be roster that gives them best shot at winning. Whether thats with McLain on big league roster or trying to break funk in AAA isn’t for me to say.
I am pulling for Reds to make Postseason tho, hard not to root for such a historic franchise.
As a Cubs fan, I was scared of him when he first came up. I have been less scared of him more recently.
As a Cubs fan, I was glad when the Reds traded Jonathan India out of the league for a meh starting pitcher. India was a tough out.
As a Cubs fan, I know the series Sept. 18-21 in Cincinnati will decide who gets the last Wild Card spot.
As a Cubs fan. As a Cubs fan. As a Cubs fan.
India is trash. The Red’s fleeced the Royals in the trade. Singer would be leading the Royals in strikeouts, wins and would be second in innings pitched.
I guess “Cubs” really hit a nerve..
I get it that people might take offense when I write something that could reasonably be taken (or more often, mistaken) as being offensive. But when people take offense at NOTHING, I have to conclude that they are simply jerks.
It’s not offensive it’s ignorance. India was not needed. Depth at starting pitching was and Singer fit that. How he hit against one team was not enough reason not to make the trade.
But why do you CARE so much what I think? Thst’s the weird part.
You care enough to post but it’s weird that we care enough to respond. That’s deflecting.
India was so not needed that the Reds turned right around and traded for another no power 2bman in Lux.
They traded for Lux to cover themselves if McLain wasn’t able to recover from the shoulder injury/surgery that cost MM his entire 2024 season. Singer was more valuable as an innings eater anchor to the rotation than India was to the lineup.
As a Cubs fan, you have zero clue of what you are talking about. Singer for India was a great trade for all involved. Reds are up on the Cubs 5-4. I agree the series coming up will be important, but that says more about the Cubs than the Reds.
@bleedreds: Your hostility is weird. For what it’s worth, I think the Reds will get the last wild card and the Cubs will miss the postseason. The Reds are better than the Cubs. They will be ahead of the Cubs on 9.18 and will pull away during that series. I love my team, but I am a realist.
No, Alan, you are not a realist. You are a pessimist.
The Cubs will have a magic number of 5 to clinch staying ahead of the Reds on the season. They win two games that series with the Reds and they win the tie breaker.
After the Brewers series, the Cubs play 24 straight games against below average teams based on today’s records. So, my prediction is a little conservative.
The way the Mets are playing recently, it looks like they could be the odd team out. And the Cardinals are not going to go on a Brewers-style streak to make it to the postseason.
@Bucket: Maybe. 6 of those 24 games are against the Braves, who are a different team now and have Acuna back.
The Reds are likely to take at least 3 out of 4 in Cincy Sept. 18-21. Long before that, this week, they are going to gain at least 2 games on the Cubs–and that’s being conservative.
The idea that the Mets might play their way out of the postseason is interesting–but very unlikely.
@bleedreds: Not that it matters much, but you are wrong about the head-to-head. The Cubs have won 5 of 9 against the Reds so far this season.
You are correct. I read the numbers wrong. I don’t think the Cubs pull away from the Reds, but don’t you think they should be killing this division with the amount of money they pay?
I suppose, but Hoyer has no sense of, or he cares not at all for, bat-to-ball skills. His teams are never able to string together hits to put up the proverbial crooked numbers. (The Brewers have, obviously, been beyond exceptional at that; the Reds are pretty good.) His Cubs are always too home run-dependent, and the homers always stop. He spends a decent amount of money, but he spends it unwisely. And the Tucker trade has been a disaster–not only because of what he gave up, but because Tucker has been terrible for most of the season. He is a sort of post-star star. He never does any “star things,” but since everyone calls him a star, he acts like one. He had been a drag on the lineup since May. (Have a look at his game log.)
Have the rules changed? Seems to me you can’t DFA a player who is injured. That would certainly piss off everybody in the clubhouse, no?
Seems like Tito and Fraley had a conversation and the Red’s and Fraley came to a mutual decision that Fraley can have an opportunity for more playing time with another organization. The Padres maybe.
Is that a fact or are you speculating
Translation: SOURCE?!!!
Ahhh, MLB has a short write up about it. I guess we’ll get the full story from the beat writers in a few days
The Reds beat writers? Ha, don’t count on it.
Francona said it.
Ok thanks, I hadn’t seen that
Had to be DFA’d months ago
Tito may be losing patience with a couple Reds players. Perhaps Fraley was the first salvo. More to come???
I agree. It’s a good thing Gibaud is hurt. He needs to go. At this point, a wild card spot is in sight, but you need to see who can perform. Call up Hinds and see what’s up. Benson has some games to prove he’s a piece. Moving Marte to the OF will pay dividends once he learns that’s just not where you stick the kid who picks dandelions. The pitching, besides early relief, has been solid, so we need to find out who can play. Trade a few middle IF if you need. Hope Collier comes back healthy next season and can contribute at a big league level. Hope Lowder can do the same. Greene, Burns, Lowder, Singer, Abbot is pretty nasty. Move Lodolo to the ‘pen or trade him. Reds can cut some fat and be real good with a few moves and minimal money spent. Then in 3 years we will suck again
Yea move the only pitcher in the National League with a complete game shutout to the bullpen. Makes sense.
Typical Big Bob salary dump. May not be the last one either.
The other Bob, Bob Nutting, will also be doing similar moves with the Pirates.
Do they share the same Office Space?
Accusing the Reds of salary dumping in Fraley’s case is insane but very predictable from you. Jake has underperformed and is often injured. You can’t justify an open ended spot for him. It’s not personal and I’m sure he understands. As for salary dumping, I am sure you had to notice the addition of Andujar, Littel and Hayes who ADDED to payroll and have worked out quite nicely. As I remember you criticized those moves also.
His Benson trade bashing is also epic. He continues to grind about trading 2 players. 1 who was released before this year after a 7.00 ERA in AA and the other with an OPS less than 500 in AAA-AA. Benson has faults. He’s also contributed more in the majors to winning games. In the Majors. Than 2 guys who are nowhere near it.
Benson contributed today. Really needed win. Nice to see players playing hard and showing desire to win. Don’t know if we can land that last spot but we’re headed in the right direction as an organization
They are on the hook for the remainder of his contract for this season. If hes signed a little under a third would be covered by new team. Not really seeing how this is a salary dump.
I think we’re seeing Tito putting his team together. I expect a lot of roster turnover this winter.
Let’s hope so. Good roster turnover this time, ok?
Future Giant in 2026.
Not a chance.
You’re thinking 2015-2024 Giants.
I’d take him. He’s a hard nose player who loves to play. If he is healthy he could play for my team.
Why? He’s a soon to be 31 year old platoon corner OF’er (should probably be a DH) who can’t hit for power. And he’s often injured. If he’s cheap enough, and your starters are good enough, then he’s a 26th man. Lefthanded bats off the bench need to be able to hit the ball out of the yard.
Giants have guys with higher ceilings on their roster right now who are 5-6 years younger.
No matter what the idiot poster This One Belongs to the Reds states. This was not a salary dump.
Francona stated that they wanted him to go on the DL but his agent wanted a trade instead. They cannot force a player in the DL even though he’s playing with a torn labrum. So they did this. It’s amazing that a Reds fan?? Cannot get the basic information for the team they follow.
Once again complaining about Benson being traded for 2 players that are no where close to the majors while Will has contributed to more wins in the majors. Even with his faults. Justin Boyd in 72 AB in AAA-AA combined was hitting less than 200 with a 480 OPS.
Steve Hajjar a pitcher had not pitched since 2024 because he was released after a 7.24 ERA showing.
I think this person is counting on there not being enough informed Reds fans to look things up or follow the team.
Fraley’s agent must be an idiot too then because players on the 40 man roster can’t be traded for the rest of the season and know one is trading for a guy with a torn labrum AND a bad knee. He’ll get paid whatever they owe him and maybe he’ll sign a minor league deal somewhere to finish the season and hope for a call up
I think most on here, myself included, liked Fraley as a Red. Played hard, had some defensive gems. His personal story, his daughter’s health struggles and triumphs had to touch you. They certainly did the fan base at large. Good player that was easy to root for and played good his first few years before the injuries.
And yes you can still trade players after the deadline if they clear waivers. Harder to do but I’m sure Jake with his injury issues would have done thst.
The personal stuff only buys so much good will with the organization, the injuries have taken a toll and obviously the Reds are moving in another direction. Expect Tito to start making his mark on the team and guys who aren’t productive not being around for long
No you can’t. They changed that rule before last season.
LOL, his agent can’t get a trade after the trade deadline.
Please call Hoyer about Ian Happ. He hits great in Cincinnati. Happ has a No Trade – but with only one year remaining, he might be willing to move on.
The Cubs shouldn’t be planning on Happ as their LFer in 2026 – and once the season is over, they need to make that clear to Happ.
Trade deadline has passed. They can’t swap players who’ve been on the 40-man roster at any point of the season.
(That is unless they’ve were on a roster, were removed and signed a minor league contract).
I can’t believe he’s that bad in the field. He was great in Seattle. I thought he was going to be a Gold Glove candidate. I guess maybe it was injuries.
Tito does not mess around. Fraley was probably complaining about his playing time, then goes out there and misplays another ball in the OF. Dude was making $3M this year. Glad they cut bait, even though they’re going to eat about 6 weeks of that prorated contract.