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Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve fired manager Bryan Price and pitching coach Mack Jenkins. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will assume managerial duties on an interim basis, while Triple-A skipper Pat Kelly will take over Riggleman’s duties as bench coach. Double-A pitching coach Danny Darwin has been added to the Major League coaching staff as well. The Reds will conduct a search for a permanent managerial replacement “later in the year,” the team added.

Bryan Price | David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Entering the season, Price was widely speculated to be on the hot seat. The 55-year-old former Reds pitching coach was entering his fifth season as manager in Cincinnati, but the Reds had opted only to exercise his 2018 club option rather than extend him to a longer team deal.

That decision came on the heels of four consecutive losing seasons, and while one can hardly blame the manager for not piling up wins on a clearly rebuilding club, Cincinnati also didn’t seem to demonstrably improve under Price’s watch. The Reds won 76 games in his first season as skipper back in 2014, and since that time they’ve won 64, 68 and 68 games in the respective seasons to follow.

This year’s Reds have been all the more disastrous, opening the year with a 3-15 record with a -46 run differential that easily ranks as the worst in the Majors. The Cincinnati front office clearly felt it was time for a new voice to guide the club, though it’s fair to question why that decision wasn’t simply made before exercising Price’s option, as not much has changed since last September. It’s also worth pointing out that Cincinnati hired former Red Sox and Blue Jays manager John Farrell in a scouting capacity this past offseason, and he’ll almost certainly join the list of managerial candidates when the Reds begin searching (if he doesn’t already top their list).

As for Jenkins, he took over for former pitching coach Mark Riggins back in July 2016, but Reds hurlers haven’t improved much, if any, under his tutelage. The Reds, to be sure, have had their share of meaningful injuries in recent seasons — perhaps none more notable than Anthony DeSclafani, who has not pitched since 2016 — but that doesn’t explain the general lack of development among the team’s more promising young arms. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote last September:

By measure of fWAR, at least, the 2016-17 Reds hurlers have turned in a two-year stretch of futility that is orders of magnitude worse than any other organization of the past two decades, falling well shy of the dreadful 2004-05 Royals and 2002-03 Devil Rays units.

The 2018 Reds staff hasn’t done anything to correct that tailspin. Cincinnati’s 5.42 ERA, 4.64 xFIP and 4.91 SIERA marks all rank second-worst in the Majors, while their 5.26 FIP as a collective unit is the highest mark of any team in baseball. Cincinnati pitchers rank near the bottom of the league in strikeout percentage and have also posted one of the highest walk percentages of any team in baseball this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers Acquire Ariel Hernandez From Reds For Zach Neal, Ibandel Isabel

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The Reds and Dodgers have announced a swap that will send starter Zach Neal and first baseman Ibandel Isabel to Cincinnati. In return, the Los Angeles organization acquires recently designated reliever Ariel Hernandez.

Neal had already cleared waivers after being designated in the first week of April, so he won’t require a 40-man spot. He briefly appeared with the Dodgers after signing a minors deal in the offseason. Neal carries a 4.94 ERA with just 3.9 K/9 and 0.7 BB/9 in his 85 2/3 total MLB innings. The 29-year-old will presumably represent a depth option for the Cincinnati staff.

The Reds also pick up Isabel, a 22-year-old who has yet to move past the High-A level. He has produced some solid numbers in the low minors, though, including a .259/.327/.489 slash with 28 home runs over 492 plate appearances last year at Rancho Cucamonga. That showing did come with a rather unhealthy tally of 172 strikeouts, and the Dodgers obviously did not see cause to move him up the chain since he was back at the same level to open the 2018 season.

It’s certainly arguable that Hernandez is the most interesting player involved in this swap. He has huge stuff but hasn’t yet shown he can harness it at the game’s highest level. The Dodgers obviously are willing to place a bet that they can straighten him out. Hernandez worked to a 5.18 ERA with 29 strikeouts and 22 walks in 24 1/3 MLB innings in 2017.

Reds GM Dick Williams On Nick Senzel Timeline

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With the Reds off to a brutal start to the season, and recently extended third baseman Eugenio Suarez out with injury, attention has turned to the question whether and when the team will promote top infield prospect Nick Senzel. GM Dick Williams addressed the matter with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, emphasizing that the organization is focused first on Senzel’s development.

The second overall pick in the 2016 draft, Senzel has played to expectations since joining the professional ranks. He’s widely considered one of the ten or so best prospects in the game and knocked around both High-A and Double-A pitching in 2017.

Particularly with Suarez still on the mend, there’s clearly a place for Senzel in the Cincinnati infield. But Williams says the organization felt it wasn’t the right call to promote Senzel to fill in the need. For one thing, he had been playing in the middle infield since the start of Spring Training. Thus, it was “a more natural move” for the organization to turn to the less-hyped Alex Blandino (along with some veterans already on the MLB roster) for the time being.

Beyond that, the top Reds’ baseball decisionmaker said, the preference is for Senzel’s promotion “to be more dictated by his performance and confidence as opposed to being dictated by the situation” in the majors. Despite his extremely impressive effort last year, Senzel turned in a relatively tepid Cactus League performance and has carried that sluggishness into the early portion of the 2018 season at Triple-A Louisville.

Service time is often the elephant in the room, though at this point the Reds could promote Senzel whenever they wish while knowing he will be controllable for six future seasons. Of course, if he’s held down long enough — mid-June, perhaps, though the precise date won’t be known until after the fact — then Senzel might be kept from reaching arbitration a year early as a Super Two player.

Regardless, Williams says such considerations have not factored in. The club is focused on Senzel being fully prepared — “more than ready when he gets here, if that’s at all possible.” Williams says the hope is that, once Senzel is up, he’ll be in the majors for good. But just when that will come to pass is unclear. And in the meantime, disappointed fans are sure to continue expressing their frustrations.

Rangers Acquire Tony Sanchez

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The Rangers have acquired backstop Tony Sanchez from the Reds, both teams announced. Cash or a player to be named later will head back in return.

Once a highly-regarded prospect with the Pirates, the 29-year-old Sanchez has settled in as an upper-level depth piece. He’ll head to the Rangers’ top affiliate to take the place of Brett Nicholas, who was recently dealt to the Padres.

Sanchez has just 156 total plate appearances at the MLB level in four seasons of action, over which he carries a .257/.301/.375 batting line. He spent the bulk of 2017 at the Triple-A level with the Angels organization, where he posted a .272/.355/.374 slash with four long balls in 284 trips to the plate.

Price On Senzel Timeline

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  • The struggling Reds have received zero production from their third basemen since Eugenio Suarez hit the disabled list, but they’ve yet to call on one of baseball’s top prospects, Nick Senzel, to fill the void. As John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, we’re already deep enough into the season that the Reds could promote Senzel and have delayed his free agency by a full year. Manager Bryan Price indicated that he believes Senzel could help the team right now but added that it’s a group decision and not one he can make on his own. “This is a decision that’s made by a lot of people for a lot of varying reasons,” said Price. “…I think he could help us. There’s also the argument that the people who see him and know him better than I do need to feel like he’s ready.” Senzel, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is hitting just .233/.283/.349 through 46 Triple-A plate appearances, though his bat has picked up a bit after a four-game hitless slump.

Reds Notes: Schebler, Hernandez

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  • Reds outfielder Scott Schebler, on the DL retroactive to April 6 with a right elbow injury, is slated to play in a Triple-A rehab game Sunday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. If that goes well, it’s possible Schebler will rejoin the Reds on Monday, according to manager Bryan Price. Meanwhile, reliever David Hernandez is getting close to embarking on his own rehab assignment, per Sheldon. The Reds signed Hernandez to a two-year deal in free agency, but right shoulder inflammation has kept him from debuting with the club.

Reds Designate Ariel Hernandez For Assignment

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The Reds announced on Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Ariel Hernandez for assignment. His 40-man spot will go to righty Dylan Floro, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Louisville. Right-hander Tanner Rainey was optioned to Louisville to open a spot on the active roster for Floro, who’ll join the bullpen for tonight’s game.

Hernandez, 26, is best known for an electric fastball that he can run up into triple digits, though his big league debut in 2017 wasn’t particularly inspiring. Through 24 1/3 innings out of the Reds’ bullpen last year, the 6’4″, 230-pound righty posted a 5.18 ERA with and impressive 29 strikeouts against a disastrous 22 walks. He also served up six homers in that short time and posted a 42.9 percent ground-ball rate that was noticeably lower than his typically strong minor league marks.

That said, as a power arm with multiple minor league options remaining, Hernandez seems like the type of arm that could well command interest from other clubs — if not via trade then certainly on the waiver wire. It’s worth noting that Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper pointed out a spring velocity drop for Hernandez (Twitter link), which could very well have contributed to his DFA, though.

Floro, meanwhile, has 24 2/3 innings of big league experience and a 5.11 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 to show for it. While Hernandez struggles with his control, Floro specializes in preventing free passes, having only yielded 1.5 walks per nine innings in 245 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level. The 27-year-old has averaged just 5.9 K/9 at that level, but he’s also routinely posted ground-ball rates in the mid-50s and notched an impressive 61.6 percent grounder rate in Triple-A last year.

Yovani Gallardo Elects Free Agency

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The Reds announced that right-hander Yovani Gallardo has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency. Cincinnati had designated him for assignment earlier this week.

Gallardo’s tenure with the Reds will go down as a brief 2 1/3-inning stint over a span of just three games. Cincinnati picked up the veteran righty after he didn’t make the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, but the 32-year-old will once again hit the open market in search of a new club.

Gallardo was a quality big league starter from 2009-15, averaging 32 starts and 191 innings of 3.69 ERA ball per season with Milwaukee (and, in 2015, with the Rangers). However, his strikeout rate began to deteriorate in 2013. His fastball, which averaged 92.5 mph during his best seasons, fell to an average of 90.4 mph in his lone season with Texas, and the start of his Orioles career was marred by a shoulder/biceps issue which shelved him for roughly six weeks. He gained some of his velocity back in 2017 with Seattle, though that spike is likely in part attributable to a brief move to the bullpen.

Over the past two seasons, Gallardo has struggled to a 5.57 ERA with just 6.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 as he’s become increasingly susceptible to the long ball. Still, a club in need of some rotation depth could certainly look to bring the veteran into the fold as a depth option — depending on his willingness to head to the minors. It’s possible that a club particularly thin on pitching, such as the Marlins, could look to plug Gallardo directly into its staff (that’s merely my own speculation), though most clubs would view him as more of a Triple-A depth option at this point.

Reds Designate Yovani Gallardo

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The Reds announced today that they have designated veteran righty Yovani Gallardo for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander Tanner Rainey, whose contract was selected.

Gallardo, 32, spent camp with the division-rival Brewers but was cut loose before the start of the season. He joined the Cincinnati organization shortly thereafter on a deal that reported came with a $750K salary. It’s not clear, though, whether some or all of that sum is guaranteed.

Though it’s still quite early, Gallardo is off to a brutal start. He has allowed eight earned runs on eight hits and four walks while logging 2 1/3 innings. The veteran has had trouble finding the zone and been hammered when he has. That follows some rather distinct struggles over the past two campaigns, as Gallardo carries a 5.57 ERA in his past 248 2/3 innings.

Still, it stands to reason that another team will come calling on Gallardo, though he’ll surely have to spend some time in the minors before another MLB chance opens. From 2009 through 2015, after all, he averaged 191 innings of 3.69 ERA annually. While it’s no longer reasonable to anticipate anything close to that kind of productivity, Gallardo could end up being seen as a handy depth option to have around.

As for Rainey, the 2015 second-rounder could make for an interesting addition to the MLB relief unit. He has a big arm and took off after moving to a full-time relief role in 2017. Splitting the season between the High-A and Double-A levels, Rainey compiled a 3.19 ERA with 15.1 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/10/18

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Reds have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Steve Selsky, per Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). Selsky, 28, was cut loose by the Red Sox a few days back. He spent the 2017 season with the Boston organization but will return now to the team that originally took him in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft. Selsky has only seen minimal MLB time to date but has shown an interesting bat at times. He has not continued the pop he demonstrated at the High-A level earlier in his career, but has mostly been a high-average, solid-on-base hitter in the upper minors. In 2017, however, he limped to a .215/.270/.360 slash with atypically unsightly plate discipline numbers (30.1% strikeout rate; 5.6% walk rate).

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