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Reds Sign Logan Morrison

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The Reds have signed first baseman Logan Morrison to a minor league contract, per an announcement from the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League. Morrison had played nine games with the Rockers after signing last month. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Louisville.

Morrison has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past eleven seasons. He was a quality hitter as recently as 2017, but he scuffled in 2018 and hasn’t gotten much run at the highest level since. Morrison only picked up 38 plate appearances with the Phillies in 2019, and he tallied just 28 trips to the plate last year with the Brewers.

Cincinnati obviously has first base spoken for with Joey Votto, but the club’s left-handed bench players (Shogo Akiyama, Mike Freeman and Mark Payton) haven’t hit much. That could open an opportunity for Morrison if he gets off to a strong start in Louisville.

Injury Notes: Antone, Rosenthal, Sanchez, Owings

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve placed righty Tejay Antone on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm. The team is hopeful that it’ll be a minimum stint for Antone, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. Even a 10-day absence for Antone is a blow to the Reds, however, given how excellent he’s been out of the ’pen this season. Antone looked to have put together a breakout year in 2020, but he’s taken things even further in his age-27 campaign this year. The right-hander has tallied 32 innings out of the bullpen and recorded a brilliant 1.41 ERA to go along with a 34.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.5 percent walk rate. Antone regularly works multiple innings and has picked up three saves to go along with seven holds.

After non-tendering Archie Bradley and dumping Raisel Iglesias’ salary in a deal with the Angels, the Reds have seen their bullpen pitch to an MLB-worst 5.88 ERA. That sky-high mark comes in spite of Antone’s dominance; the Reds’ other relievers have combined for a disastrous 6.58 ERA in 203 2/3 innings so far.

A few more notable injury situations around the league…

  • The Athletics are still hopeful that Trevor Rosenthal will be able to pitch for the team this season, writes Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Oakland currently has a mid-August target for Rosenthal, who developed thoracic outlet symptoms this spring after signing a surprising one-year, $11MM deal with the A’s. He underwent surgery prior to Opening Day, and while he’s not yet throwing, Rosenthal is progressing through a strength program. The Oakland bullpen has been a middle-of-the-pack unit so far in 2021, pitching to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.79 FIP. A’s relievers have the game’s lowest collective strikeout rate (20.5 percent) but also have one of the best walk rates (8.6 percent). Prior to their deal with Rosenthal, the A’s seemed to target relievers who were underpriced due to sub-par strikeout rates but also thrived in terms of limiting hard contact. To this point, the bullpen’s 34.5 percent hard-hit rate is the third-lowest in MLB.
  • Marlins starter Sixto Sánchez has resumed his rehab program, as he’s now throwing from 60 feet, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to pass along. Sánchez, who went down with shoulder inflammation in early April, had his throwing program paused last week on account of bursitis. He’s yet to pitch this season after tossing 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.
  • Rockies utilityman Chris Owings is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). He’s already progressed to taking batting practice. Owings, who signed a minor league deal over the winter, made the Opening Day roster and got off to a scorching start over his first seven games. Unfortunately, he suffered a left thumb injury that required surgery in mid-April, keeping him out of action for more than two months.

Reds Place Sonny Gray On 10-Day IL

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5:27pm: The Reds don’t have an exact timetable for Gray, but manager David Bell is hopeful he’ll miss just two starts (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

3:29pm: The Reds announced that they have placed starter Sonny Gray on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. The team recalled fellow right-hander Art Warren from Triple-A Louisville to take Gray’s roster spot.

It has been a rough year from an injury standpoint for Gray, who had a delayed start because of a back issue. Since the Reds activated him on April 17, Gray has pitched to a strong 3.42 ERA/3.52 SIERA with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate (the second-best mark of his career) and a roughly average 9.3 percent walk rate across 50 innings.

Of course, success in Cincinnati isn’t anything new for Gray, who has enjoyed a career renaissance since the Reds acquired him from the Yankees before the 2019 campaign. While little went right for Gray in New York, he has given the Reds 281 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball, and he has done so at a bargain rate. The Reds shrewdly extended Gray to a three-year, $30MM guarantee when they landed him. That deal also includes a $12MM club option for 2023, and though plenty can happen between now and then, Gray’s on track to have it picked up.

Considering Gray’s combination of high-quality performance and appealing contract, the Reds could be content to keep him for the life of his deal. On the other hand, though, the team did listen to offers for the 31-year-old last offseason, and it hasn’t gotten off to a good start in 2021. With the Reds in fourth place in the National League Central and the July 30 deadline looming, Gray could be a viable trade candidate this summer. In the meantime, he’ll have to get healthy.

Reds Activate Joey Votto

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The Reds announced Tuesday that first baseman Joey Votto is back from the 10-day injured list. To clear room for Votto, the Reds placed right-hander Michael Feliz on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Monday) with an elbow issue.

Cincinnati has gone more than a month without Votto, who hasn’t played since May 5 on account of a fractured left thumb. The 37-year-old, a six-time All-Star and former MVP, was off to a tough start before then with a career-low .226/.305/.425 line and five home runs in 118 trips to the plate. However, it wasn’t necessarily a hopeless start to the season for Votto, who dealt with some poor fortune that contributed to his mediocre line. For instance, Votto ranks well above average in several important Statcast categories – including expected weighted on-base average (his .377 xwOBA far outdoes his .319 real wOBA) – so his meager .250 batting average on balls in play seems likely to increase.

The Votto-less Reds have tread water since he went down, as they were one game under .500 then and that remains the case. The club is four games back in the competitive National League Central, which has three other contenders in the division-leading Brewers, the Cubs and the Cardinals.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/7/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Reds righty Hector Perez cleared waivers and was outrighted off their roster, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Perez, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday, had been in limbo since the Reds designated him on June 2. He began this year by pitching to a 9.35 ERA in 8 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level before his designation.

Earlier:

  • The Red Sox outrighted Colten Brewer to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers.  Brewer was designated for assignment last Thursday.  After a pretty solid 2019 season out of Boston’s bullpen, Brewer has struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 26 2/3 frames over the last two years, including a single inning of work this season that saw him allow four earned runs.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Pirates, Frazier, Reds, India

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By all accounts, the Yankees will continue to treat the $210MM luxury tax line as a soft cap, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. That gives GM Brian Cashman just about $4MM of accessible payroll space. As Rosenthal notes, those limited financial resources could account for a perceived “lack of urgency” from the front office. The Yanks are now 2-8 in their last ten and just two games over the .500 mark. Of course, even if the Yankees were ready to spend, there aren’t necessarily pieces out there to buy. The market tends to move as one, and it’s tough to get much traction until selling teams feel they have heard from a large enough swath of potential buyers. In early June, there simply aren’t enough buyers at the auction.

But that doesn’t have to stop us from looking at the potential options. For example…

  • Adam Frazier is generating trade interest, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The Pirates’ second baseman is one of the surest bets to find a new squad this trade season, as the 29-year-old is one of few veterans on a last-place Pirates team that’s one of the game’s few sure-thing sellers. He’s affordable, making just $4.3MM this season, and with one more year of team control, it’s the optimal time for GM Ben Cherington to net a high-impact return. While his .332/.394/.472 line hardly seems sustainable – nor does a .368 BABIP – he’s a versatile veteran with enough team control to convince potential buyers of his short-and-long-term value. The Yankees are a team that would seem like a particular fit for Frazier, though Murray writes that New York isn’t “among the teams to express early interest.”
  • Reds’ rookie second baseman Jonathan India made a change at the plate recently that’s paying off. He has settled down his mechanics in the batter’s box, ditching a high leg kick and utilizing instead a toe tap as his loading action, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The early returns are encouraging: India torched the Cardinals this weekend, going 7-for-18 with two home runs, two doubles and four walks to just one strikeout. That output upped his overall line this year to a solid .261/.368/.423, 18 percent better than average with the bat.

NL Injury Notes: Voth, Naquin, Molina, Mets

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Nationals pitcher Austin Voth suffered a broken nose after being hit in the face by a Vince Velasquez pitch.  In the third inning of today’s 12-6 Nats loss to the Phillies, Voth squared to bunt but couldn’t avoid Velasquez’s off-target fastball in time.  Voth did walk off the field under his own power, and Washington manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com) that the right-hander would have his nose reset tonight.

Today was Voth’s first official start of the season, though it was intended as something of a glorified opener/piggyback outing since Voth has worked out of the bullpen all season.  After inconsistent results as a starter over his first three seasons, Voth has delivered strong bottom-line results in the form of a 2.73 ERA over 29 2/3 innings in his multi-inning reliever role, though advanced metrics (like a 92.3% strand rate and a .239 BABIP) indicate some good fortune.

Martinez also related the incident to the league’s efforts to crack down on pitchers’ use of foreign substances on the ball, saying that “you’ll see more [hit by pitches] if we keep messing around with the stuff about the balls.  I understand them trying to clean some stuff up.  But it’s hot, it’s slippery, it’s sweaty.  I know Velasquez didn’t throw in there intentionally, but I’m afraid that if we don’t come up with something unified for everybody, you’ll see a lot more of that.  And that’s a scary feeling.”

More injury updates from the Senior Circuit…

  • Tyler Naquin left Sunday’s 8-7 Reds victory over the Cardinals due to left hamstring tightness.  Naquin took something of an awkward slide into second base in the first inning, and was replaced by a pinch-hitter for his next plate appearance in the top of the third.  Naquin has cooled down after a scorching-hot opening month of the season, but the outfielder still has an impressive .257/.333/.509 slash line and 11 homers over 189 plate appearances while emerging as Cincinnati’s everyday center fielder.  Reds manager David Bell told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and other reporters that the removal was precautionary in nature, and Naquin could be back as early as Tuesday for the Reds’ next game.
  • Yadier Molina left yesterday’s game after taking a foul tip off his kneecap, and the veteran catcher wasn’t in today’s Cardinals lineup.  However, manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that “it looks like a little-bit-of-rest situation” and that Molina might have been able to play today in the event of an emergency.  The Cards have off-days both tomorrow and Thursday, so Molina might not miss much time even if he does need more than a day to recover.
  • There isn’t much new progress with the status of either Brandon Nimmo or J.D. Davis, as neither Mets regular seems close to a return.  As Mets manager Luis Rojas told The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters, Nimmo is taking swings but not off a tee or against actual pitches, as he continues to recover from a nerve problem in his left index finger.  Davis isn’t swinging whatsoever, as his sprained left hand will be in a splint for the next few days.  Jonathan Villar is battling a tight hamstring and wasn’t in today’s starting lineup, as Rojas said the team is being cautious with Villar after he was able to come off the bench on both Friday and Saturday.

NL Injury Notes: Muncy, Guillorme, Blandino

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Let’s check in on a couple of injury situations in the National League…

  • The Dodgers got some good news today as X-Rays on Max Muncy’s ankle came back negative, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Muncy is suffering from a mild ankle sprain, but he should be available to pinch-hit. Muncy has perhaps been even better than usual this season with a 165 wRC+ while handling 72 percent of the workload at first base and 12 percent of the playing time at second.
  • Luis Guillorme began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Friday night as he recoveres from a right oblique strain, per Deesha Thosar of the NY Daily News (via Twitter). The Mets expect Guillorme to be healthy enough for activation by the end of the week.
  • Alex Blandino has a broken right hand, but no surgery will be required, so he could return to the Reds in three to six weeks, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). A first round pick back in 2014, Blandino has appeared at every infield position and left field while also toeing the rubber four times this season for the Reds. He owns a .200/.317/.257 in 82 plate appearances.

Latest On Michael Lorenzen

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Michael Lorenzen has yet to pitch this season due to a shoulder strain suffered during Spring Training, and it will still be a while before the right-hander takes the field.  Reds manager David Bell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon) that Lorenzen could “maybe” return to action around the All-Star break, though Lorenzen did provide a positive update on his rehab work.  “He said everything he did yesterday felt like he was never injured,” Bell said.

When Lorenzen does get back to Cincinnati, Bell noted that the right-hander “will come back as a reliever.  He’s not going to have to build up to be a starter.  We’ll get him back quicker that way.”

The shoulder strain was initially thought to be relatively minor when Lorenzen was sidelined back in March, though a setback during his rehab led to multiple PRP injections and a move to the 60-day injured list.  It also cost Lorenzen a potential chance at a rotation spot, as he was auditioning as a starter during Spring Training.  Lorenzen has also been used as a pinch-hitter and fill-in outfielder in recent years, but Bell didn’t mention whether or not Lorenzen would continue in any sort of two-way role upon his return.

The righty is no stranger to relief pitching, of course, after spending several seasons as a prime set-up weapon out of Cincinnati’s bullpen.  Lorenzen had never entirely closed the door on starting pitching, however, making three starts during the 2018 season and two turns in the Reds rotation last September, which led him to firmly set his sights on being a full-time starter in 2021.

Assuming he does get back around the All-Star break, Lorenzen will at least have the second half of the season to bank some quality innings and hopefully help the Reds compete for a postseason berth.  However, Cincinnati is just 25-29 at the moment, sitting in fourth place in the NL Central and six games back of the first-place Cubs.  If the Reds can’t get into the playoff race and decide to sell at the trade deadline, Lorenzen is scheduled for free agency this winter and would be an obvious trade chip.

Lorenzen would only have a couple of weeks between the All-Star break and the July 30 deadline to pitch effectively and prove his health for any interested suitors.  That said, he does have a solid track record as a reliever, and would be inexpensive — a team acquiring him on July 30 would be on the hook for roughly $1.49MM remaining on Lorenzen’s $4,437,500 salary for the year.  Even if Lorenzen is a bit shaky in his first couple of outings back from the injured list, it’s easy to imagine another team taking the calculated risk of trading for him anyway.

Reds Designate Hector Perez For Assignment

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The Reds announced they’ve designated right-hander Héctor Pérez for assignment. Right-hander Michael Feliz has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list, necessitating a 40-man roster spot. Feliz was placed on the IL yesterday to accommodate the addition of utilityman Mike Freeman, whose contract was selected to the 40-man roster before last night’s game against the Phillies. Lefty Cionel Pérez has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville to create active roster space.

Cincinnati acquired Freeman, 33, from the Indians in a minor trade in March. He picked up two plate appearances in last night’s game, finishing the night on the mound as the Reds tried to preserve their bullpen arms amidst a 14-run loss. That marked Freeman’s sixth consecutive season logging some big league time, the bulk of which came between 2019-20 in Cleveland. Freeman owns a .234/.316/.331 line in 349 big league plate appearances. He’s been off to a tough start with Louisville, hitting just .204/.316/.306 over sixteen games.

Héctor Pérez, who’ll turn 25 this week, originally signed with the Astros as an international amateur. The Blue Jays acquired him as part of the Roberto Osuna deal at the 2018 trade deadline, and he spent the next few seasons in their system. Pérez made his MLB debut with Toronto last year, averaging 95.7 MPH on his fastball and showing a mid-80s slider. The Reds acquired him for a player to be named later or cash considerations in January.

Unfortunately for Pérez, his control has evaporated in the early going this season. Across 8 2/3 Triple-A innings, he’s allowed nine runs on eight hits and an alarming eleven walks. The Reds will now have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers. Pérez is in his final minor league option year, so any acquiring team could shuttle him back-and-forth between the big leagues and Triple-A for the rest of this season.

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