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Reds Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day DL, Select Contract Of Cliff Pennington

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The Reds announced a slew of moves Thursday in setting their Opening Day roster, including the placement of right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 60-day DL due to a left oblique strain. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Cliff Pennington, whose contract has been selected.

Additionally, the Reds placed left-hander Brandon Finnegan and righties David Hernandez, Michael Lorenzen and Kevin Shackelford on the 10-day disabled list. Meanwhile, closer Raisel Iglesias will open the year on the paternity list. The Reds have recalled lefty Cody Reed and righty Jackson Stephens from Triple-A.

The oblique issue is the latest in a long series of injuries that has kept DeSclafani off a big league mound since the 2016 season. An oblique issue in 2016 and a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in 2017 have combined to limit the talented young righty to just 123 1/3 innings since the beginning of the 2016 season. When healthy, of course, DeSclafani has looked every bit the part of a quality young long-term piece; in 308 innings with the Reds in 2015-16, DeSclafani worked to a 3.74 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over the life of 51 starts.

The 33-year-old Pennington spent the past two seasons with the Angels, where he batted a combined .232/.287/.320 through 405 plate appearances. Offense has never been a calling card for Pennington, a switch-hitter with a career .243/.310/.341 hitter through 3108 plate appearances, spanning 10 seasons. But, he’s a versatile defender capable of providing average or better glovework at shortstop, second base and third base, which makes him a nice utility option to have on hand — particularly for a Reds team that has yet to see Jose Peraza establish himself as a big leaguer.

Reds Outright Justin Nicolino

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The Reds announced today that lefty Justin Nicolino has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He had recently been claimed from the Marlins.

In the end, then, the Cincinnati organization was able to grab and stash the 26-year-old, who’ll add to the team’s collection of youthful pitching depth. Nicolino obviously won’t factor into the immediate plans at the MLB level, but he’ll presumably have a chance to build innings and challenge for a place in the pecking order with a team that could well end up with a lot of chances available in the majors.

Nicolino has surrendered 4.65 earned runs per nine over his 201 1/3 MLB innings to date, all of which have come with Miami over the past three years. He has managed only 86 strikeouts in that span. While Nicolino has generated plenty of grounders and harmless infield flies in the minors, he has not excelled particularly in either area in the majors.

Reds Claim Justin Nicolino From Marlins

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The Reds have claimed left-hander Justin Nicolino off waivers from the Marlins. The addition of Nicolino gives the Reds 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Nicolino was once a well-regarded prospect, as he went to Toronto in the second round of the 2010 draft and later ended up on various top 100 lists. He was also one of the pieces in a massive 2012 trade between the Blue Jays and Marlins, one that featured a slew of household names in Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, Jake Marisnick, Jeff Mathis and Anthony DeSclafani (who’s now a Red).

Unfortunately for both the Marlins and Nicolino, he didn’t perform to expectations after the trade. Nicolino debuted in 2015 and saw extensive action in Miami through last season, but he only managed a 4.65 ERA/4.84 FIP across 201 1/3 innings (50 appearances, 33 starts). While Nicolino did a decent job inducing grounders (45.8 percent) and limiting walks (2.68 per nine), he posted a paltry 3.84 K/9 that made it difficult for him to deliver quality results with the Marlins.

Given that he’s out of options, the 26-year-old Nicolino will either have to stick on the Reds’ roster or head back to the waiver wire.  He could open the season as a long reliever in Cincinnati’s bullpen (depth chart).

Reds Release Ben Revere

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The Reds have released outfielder Ben Revere, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com was among those to report. Revere joined the Reds a month ago on a minor league contract. Meanwhile, offseason minor league signings Phil Gosselin and Kevin Quackenbush have made the club. Gosselin will be part of the Reds’ bench, while Quackenbush will work out of their bullpen.

Revere was vying for a backup role in Cincinnati, but given the presences of outfielders Billy Hamilton, Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler and Jesse Winker, he looked like a long shot to make an impact with the team. The 29-year-old was ineffective over the previous two seasons, one with the Nationals and the other with the Angels, as he accounted for minus-1.2 fWAR and a .243/.282/.320 batting line in 683 plate appearances.

Revere’s signature speed was on display in 2017 during a 21-steal showing, but he’s no longer the solid regular he was earlier in his career with the Twins, Phillies and Blue Jays. Between his first full season, 2011, and 2015, Revere racked up 9.2 fWAR and batted .296/.329/.350 in 2,630 PAs. He also amassed 176 steals, the second-highest total in the league during that span.

Reds Acquire Robinson Leyer From White Sox

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  • The Reds have acquired right-hander Robinson Leyer from the White Sox, per Jon Heyman of FanRag. It’s not yet known what the ChiSox will receive for the 25-year-old Leyer, who debuted with their organization in 2012. Leyer spent a large portion of the previous two seasons at the Double-A level, including all of 2017, when he posted a 3.55 ERA with 9.57 K/9, 5.09 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent groundball rate in 58 1/3 innings.

Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Saturday

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team’s 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.

Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.

The deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:

  1. Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
  2. Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.
  3. Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.

We’ll use this post to keep track of the Article XX(B) free agents whose respective teams have elected option one or two; in other words, players who won’t be released for the time being. The most recent updates are on top.

  • Miguel Montero has been informed that he’ll make the Nationals as the club’s backup catcher, according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com. He’ll earn a $1.3MM base salary, as outlined in the details of the pact he signed with the club on February 1st. Montero beat out young backstop Pedro Severino in a camp battle for the role.

Earlier…

Reds Looking For Pitching

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  • While none of these teams were specifically cited as being interested in McHugh, Heyman listed the Reds, Brewers, Mariners, and Rangers as teams that are looking for pitching.  All four of the clubs have dealt with some injury setbacks in Spring Training, so further additions could be more akin to fill-in options rather than major acquisitions.  Texas, however, does seem to be at least considering making a higher-priced add, given how the Rangers showed some recent interest in Cobb and Greg Holland.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Central Notes: Indians, Naquin, Refsnyder, Reds, Miley, Cabrera

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Tyler Naquin and Rob Refsnyder are still competing for a potential spot on the Indians’ opening day roster, and Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets that manager Terry Francona has explained some details to them. Francona reportedly told the two players that the spot won’t simply go to the guy who gets the most hits over the last week, and that roster construction could be the biggest factor. For instance, if Brandon Guyer and/or Michael Brantley aren’t ready in time for opening day, Naquin and Refsnyder would stand a better chance to make the club out of camp. Whether the club chooses to carry seven or eight relievers will also affect their fates. It’s worth noting that Tyler Naquin has multiple options remaining, while Rob Refsnyder is an out-of-options player.

More out of the midwest…

  • In a piece for The Athletic, Doug Gray details ten Reds prospects to keep an eye on for the coming season. The players in the article aren’t necessarily top prospects, but rather a group of under-the-radar players who Gray describes as “unheralded”. The list includes right-handers Nick Hanson and Ryan Hendrix, $10MM shortstop Jose Garcia, and Brandon Phillips’ cousin Montrell Marshall. Many of these players have significant upside and are worth the exploration by any Reds fan, or indeed any avid baseball follower.
  • Wade Miley’s opt-out date has been pushed back, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports on Twitter. The southpaw seemed likely to make the Brewers’ rotation before suffering a torn groin that’s expected to keep him out two to four weeks. Miley could have opted out of his contract tomorrow after being informed that he wouldn’t make the opening day roster, but GM David Stearns apparently worked out a deal with his agent. Miley’s opt-out date has been extended until the point at which he’s able to start pitching again.
  • Two-time MVP Miguel Cabrera is stuck in “baseball purgatory”, says Scott Miller in an opinion piece for Bleacher Report. Miller describes Cabrera as “an island unto himself”, on a rebuilding Tigers team that will not likely be able to deal him and the $192MM remaining on his contract, particularly coming off the worst season of his career wherein he was plagued by back issues. For his part, Cabrera doesn’t seem to be focused on that aspect of his situation. “I’m here to play,” he says. “I’m not here to give my opinion of what’s going to happen. I’m here to do my job, to help win games and to help the process.” 

Reds Claim Kennys Vargas

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The Reds have claimed first baseman/DH Kennys Vargas off waivers from the Twins, per an announcement from the Minnesota organization. He had been designated for assignment recently.

It’s a bit difficult to see how Vargas will fit into the Cincinnati organization’s plans at first glance. He’s out of options and limited on a National League roster to pinch-hitting or playing first base, where Joey Votto is an everyday presence.

Unless there’s some unknown issue that would warrant the move, it could be that the Reds are simply utilizing their waiver position to grab a player they like but won’t carry on their active roster. Vargas could be traded to a team further down the priority line — just four teams are higher than the Reds at present — or put back on waivers in hopes that he’ll clear and can be stashed at Triple-A.

All indications have been that the Twins anticipated another organization claiming Vargas, despite the fact that a trade could not be sorted out. It seems there’s some optimism around the league for the 27-year-old switch-hitter.

Though Vargas has not yet shown that he can be a consistent on-base threat at the game’s highest level, with a .311 OBP in 859 career plate appearances, though he has drawn tons of walks in the upper minors. Vargas isn’t exactly a prodigious home run hitter but has shown good power output both at Triple-A and in the majors (.185 ISO) and perhaps has some more in the tank if he can tap into his raw strength.

*The initial version of this post incorrectly suggested that American League teams all passed on a chance to claim Vargas. Outright waiver priority is determined by winning percentage, lowest first, without reference to league except to break a tie in recor.

Ohio Notes: Lorenzen, Antonetti, Upton, Mesoraco

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Here’s the latest from both Buckeye State teams…

  • Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen suffered a Grade 1 strain of the teres muscle near his throwing shoulder, and will be kept from throwing “for several days,” manager Bryan Price told media (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay).  Lorenzen’s injury isn’t as severe as the similar issue that kept Brandon Finnegan out of action for half of the 2017 season, though it does seem unlikely that Lorenzen would be ready to go by Opening Day.  The 26-year-old was attempting to win a spot in Cincy’s rotation but struggled to an 8.38 ERA over 9 2/3 Spring Training innings.  Between those poor results and now this injury, Lorenzen is sure to resume his old role as a late-inning weapon out of the Reds bullpen.
  • The Indians don’t have much payroll on the books beyond the 2019 season, but president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand not to expect the team to make any splashy signings next winter.  “That’s not the reality of our team-building,” Antonetti said.  “We are one of the smallest markets in professional baseball….We’ve had incredible support from our ownership in which we’ve spent well beyond our revenues as we’ve gone through this competitive period.  But we can’t build teams through free agency.  Our success model is we need to draft and acquire players that are younger and help provide the right environment for them to grow and develop because that’s going to be the nucleus of our team.  We’ll use free agency to complement that group, but not to build that group.”  The Tribe is poised to exceed the $100MM payroll mark for the third straight season (all record highs for the organization) in pursuit of a World Series, with the Edwin Encarnacion signing standing out as an uncharacteristic move for the smaller-market team.  Any future spending isn’t likely to reach nearly the heights of 2016-18, however, and it could be more internally-focused, such as trying to sign in-house players (i.e. Francisco Lindor) to extensions.
  • After releasing Melvin Upton Jr. yesterday, the Indians could potentially re-sign the outfielder to another minor league deal if he can’t find a contract elsewhere, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes.  Manager Terry Francona said that the team chose to let Upton know prior to his opt-out date that the veteran wouldn’t be making the team, so Upton could have extra time to explore his options.  Cleveland already has several outfielders ahead of Upton on both the MLB and minor league depth charts, though there are enough question marks at the position that Upton could provide some extra experience at Triple-A.
  • In another piece from John Fay, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco said that he is finally feeling healthy after three injury-ravaged seasons.  “I feel great.  I don’t have to worry about health.  I work on my swing, work on my catching, play ball,” Mesoraco said.  After breaking out with a huge 2014 that earned him a four-year, $28MM extension after that season, Mesoraco has since played in just 95 total games due to hip, shoulder, and foot injuries.  The lack of durability cost Mesoraco the starting job as the Reds catcher, but he is prepared to contribute anyway he can as Tucker Barnhart’s backup.
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