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Reds Designate Pedro Strop, Select Jose Garcia

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The Reds announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Pedro Strop from the injured list and designated him for assignment. In other moves, the club selected infielder Jose Garcia and optioned outfielder Travis Jankowski to its alternate site.

If this is the end of the right-handed Strop’s run with the Reds, it’ll go down as short-lived and unmemorable. The former Ranger, Oriole and Cub signed with the Reds for a one-year, $1.825MM guarantee in the winter, but he threw a mere 2 1/3 innings of three-run ball (one earned) before landing on the IL earlier this month with a right groin strain. The 35-year-old Strop does bring a quality MLB track record to the table, though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him end up with another team if he’s healthy.

The Reds aren’t wasting any time with Garcia, who will start at shortstop for the team Wednesday. It’s a big leap for the 22-year-old Garcia, who hasn’t yet played above High-A ball, where he slashed .280/.343/.436 with eight home runs and 15 stolen bases in 452 plate appearances last season. Garcia’s now the Reds’ seventh-ranked prospect at Baseball America, which writes that he has the potential “to jump to the top of Cincinnati’s system with continued performance.”

Reds Select Jesse Biddle

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The Reds have selected left-hander Jesse Biddle’s contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. The team also placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the paternity list and put infielder Jose Garcia on its taxi squad.

Biddle was a Reds offseason minor league signing who divided 2018-19 among the Braves, Mariners and Rangers. His career began quite well during his first year, in which Biddle tossed 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA/3.88 FIP ball with 9.47 K/9, 4.38 BB/9 and a 55.6 percent groundball rate. But things went south last year for Biddle, who could only muster an 8.36 ERA/6.46 FIP in 28 innings, owing largely to a horrid 7.07 BB/9 and an almost 10 percent drop in grounder rate.

The 28-year-old Biddle will now join a Reds bullpen that, like the team itself, has underwhelmed this season. Reds relievers will go into Tuesday 26th in the majors in ERA and 23rd in FIP.

Reds Designate Cody Reed

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The Reds have designated left-hander Cody Reed for assignment, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to report. The club reinstated righty Robert Stephenson in a corresponding move.

Reed, now 27, joined the Reds in the team’s 2015 trade with the Royals centering on righty Johnny Cueto. Reed debuted in the majors the next season, but he didn’t begin truly making his mark in the bigs until 2018. Between then and last season, Reed tossed 49 1/3 innings of 3.65 ERA/3.59 FIP ball with 8.94 K/9, 2.92 BB/9 and an exemplary 63.2 percent groundball rate. Reed wasn’t able to carry that success into this season, though, as he allowed six earned runs on 10 hits and eight walks (10 strikeouts) in 9 1/3 frames before the Reds jettisoned him. They’ll have a week to trade, release or send Reed through waivers, though he’s out of minor league options.

Stephenson, 27, made his sole appearance of the year July 25 before landing on the IL with a back injury. He was a key part of the Reds’ bullpen last year, when he amassed 64 2/3 frames of 3.76 ERA/3.63 FIP ball with 11.27 K/9 and 3.34 BB/9.

Reds Select Mark Payton’s Contract

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The Reds announced that outfielder Mark Payton’s contract has been selected to the Major League roster.  Payton’s move was one of a few transactions made official by the club, as the Reds also optioned infielder Josh VanMeter to their alternate training site and made a change to their taxi squad — righty Jose De Leon joins the taxi squad, while outfielder Robel Garcia is out.

Payton now seems set to make his MLB debut, which he probably thought was in the cards back in December when the Reds plucked him out of the Athletics’ system via the Rule 5 draft.  In July, however, the Reds returned Payton back to Oakland seemingly as part of a roster crunch, yet then re-acquired the outfielder two weeks ago.  Since Payton is now officially a member of Cincinnati’s roster, he is free of any Rule 5 restrictions, so the Reds can freely option him between the majors and their alternate training site if they so choose.

A seventh-round pick for the Yankees in the 2014 draft, Payton has hit .286/.363/.455 with 62 home runs over 2248 career minor league plate appearances.  Those career numbers are heavily fueled by Payton’s 30 homers and .334/.400/.653 slash line over 447 PA for the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019, though that performance carries some caveats.  2019 was the most hitter-friendly year in the history of Triple-A baseball, the Pacific Coast League was a notoriously hitter-friendly league even prior to 2019, and Payton (then in his age-27 season) was older than most Triple-A pitchers.

Still, obviously the Reds saw enough in Payton’s breakout year to make him a priority in the Rule 5 draft.  Payton does have some center field experience, though he has mostly played as a corner outfielder in recent years.  He will join Travis Jankowski as a left-handed hitting backup outfielder on a roster that also includes Shogo Akiyama and Jesse Winker as more regular lefty-swinging outfielders.

Identifying Potential Deadline Sellers

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The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies completed a trade on Friday, a rarity in this shortened season. While most pundits expect a quiet deadline 9 days from now, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal sees a template in Friday’s deal that might pave the way for more deals: “Desperate buyer. Eager seller. Cold hard cash to seal the deal.” That very well may be an equation that works, but there are a number of complications this trade season – including the identification of those “eager sellers.”

The Red Sox qualify, but it’s fair to wonder how many viable arms they have to move from the league’s worst pitching staff after sending two to Philly. The Angels begrudgingly find themselves with the worst record in the American League. The Mariners should be open for business again this year. The Rangers could have some interesting names if they decide to sell – especially from the rotation – currently 5 1/2 out of the wild card. The Tigers largely have the wrong combination of young players unlikely to move and veterans without much appeal, while the Royals rarely qualify as “eager sellers” no matter their position in the standings. Still, the tastemakers at the top of the American League have begun to pull away just enough to start some conversations with the cellar-dwellers.

It’s a different story in the National League, where the Pirates are the only team more than 2 1/2 games out of a wild card spot. Pittsburgh can dangle Keone Kela – if he’s healthy – and southpaw Derek Holland as well as some of their more controllable players, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry. Josh Bell would be the big fish here, and with a new regime in place and Bell off to a slow start, there could be the makings of a deal, but it’ll likely take some doing to pull him from the steel city. Trevor Williams and Adam Frazier are controllable, but both are 28-years-old and could do more for the Pirates’ future as trade bait. Richard Rodriguez, 30, is off to a great start (14-to-1 K/BB through 10 2/3 innings). Given the league-wide dearth of reliable/healthy bullpen arms, it’d be surprising to see Rodriguez survive trade season.

To illustrate the difficulty of finding an NL seller, we can stay in the same division. The Reds are off to a relatively disappointing 11-13 start, but that still places them just 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. They continue to be all-in this season, and they are hoping to add some talent, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Nightengale suggests they could look for a lefty bat to join the infield mix or to fortify their bullpen. The Reds might benefit most, however, from Eugenio Suarez finding his footing and Pedro Strop and Robert Stephenson returning to shore up the bullpen.

The other side of the deadline coin is finding the right prospects to ship out. Without minor league games to scout players, teams are mostly reliant on old or incomplete information. The Astros, for instance, could dangle top prospect Forrest Whitley, but after a disappointing 2019 and an injury early this season, it’s difficult to pinpoint his value. Still, new GM James Click isn’t taking anyone off the trade table for now, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros would appear to be selling low on Whitley, however, and given the bizarre circumstances of this season, they might see more value waiting to see if he returns to form.

Reds Place Nick Senzel On Injured List

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The Reds have placed center fielder Nick Senzel on the injured list and reinstated infielder Mike Moustakas from the 10-day IL, per a club announcement. An injury designation for Senzel was not provided. Cincinnati will also have infielder Robel Garcia on hand as the 29th man for today’s twin bill against the Royals.

There’s no firm indication that Senzel has tested positive for the coronavirus, but his vague IL placement comes after the club had its past three games postponed due to a positive test within the organization. Players can also be placed on the Covid-19 IL for exhibiting symptoms or coming into contact with someone who has since confirmed positive for the virus.

Moustakas has been out since Aug. 4 due to an injured left quadriceps and has played in just seven games this season, hitting .238/.333/.524 with a pair of homers in 24 plate appearances. He’s at designated hitter for the first game of today’s doubleheader but should eventually resume his duties as the club’s everyday second baseman. Senzel is hitting .244/.327/.489 with a pair of homers, five doubles and two steals in 14 games this year.

Both Moustakas and the 25-year-old Senzel missed time earlier this season after self-reporting symptoms of Covid-19 to the Reds. Each tested negative in the subsequent days, however. As MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon wrote last Friday, Senzel was withheld from the team’s victory line at the end of a win and exited the field with visible frustration. The Reds have not had a positive test since the decision to postpone Saturday’s game.

Reds/Royals Game Postponed In Favor Of Wednesday Doubleheader

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10:19am: Major League Baseball has formally announced that tonight’s game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

10:06am: The Reds’ schedule has been in a state of limbo after Saturday’s positive Covid-19 test(s), but they appear to be trending toward a resumption of play. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that tonight’s game against the Royals will also be postponed — as was the case with the final two games of this weekend’s series versus the Pirates — but the two sides will play a doubleheader tomorrow (Twitter links). The Reds’ most recent wave of tests came back negative, and they’re en route to Kansas City right now. However, the league will take the extra step of pushing back their return one more day.

It’s a point of frustration for some fans, but MLB has seemingly become more cautious with its scheduling in the wake broad-reaching outbreaks on the Marlins and Cardinals rosters. Both of those clubs saw new positives emerge well after the initial cases were identified. Miami had new cases six days after their initial positives, and the Cardinals had new positives more than a week after their initial cases became known. Other members of the organization tested positive along the way in those outbreaks, and that has not been the case with the Reds. But the league understandably hopes to avoid a third outbreak that wipes out more than a week’s worth of games.

Pushing today’s game into a doubleheader tomorrow won’t delay either club’s schedule, assuming the organization continues to test negative tomorrow. As for the makeup games against the Pirates, there’s no set date yet, although the two teams have a pair of series left on the schedule that present ample opportunity for makeup games. Their Sept. 4-6 series in Pittsburgh is currently scheduled to be bookended by a pair of off-days, and the Sept. 14-16 series in Cincinnati is followed by a Sept. 17 off day.

Reds Select Tyler Thornburg, Outright Christian Colon

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AUG. 17: The Reds outrighted Colon to their alternate site Monday after he cleared waivers, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Colon will remain in the organization.

AUG. 14: The Reds announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Tyler Thornburg. Infielder Christian Colon was designated for assignment to create roster space.

This’ll be Thornburg’s first MLB action since wrapping up a disappointing and injury-riddled tenure with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old was a highly productive reliever with the Brewers before running into difficulties in Boston.

Colon saw sporadic action with the Reds this year, as has been typical over his six seasons in the majors. All told, he owns a .249/.312/.310 slash in 418 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

Reds’ Latest Round Of COVID-19 Testing Reportedly Comes Back Negative

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3:15pm: Despite the Reds’ and Pirates’ most recent test results showing no positive tests, the two teams will not play a makeup doubleheader on Monday in Cincinnati, as reported by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Also per Mackey, Bucs skipper Derek Shelton said that “MLB has decided protocol-wise that they did not want us to play Monday.” Tomorrow will mark the third consecutive day that the two teams will have been out of action following a positive test within the Reds organization.

9:00am: The latest round of coronavirus testing for the Reds has come back negative, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. After one Cincinnati player was revealed Friday to have tested positive for COVID-19, the remainder of their weekend series with the Pirates was postponed. Fortunately, there’s no indication at this point the virus has progressed beyond that player.

There is no specific timetable on the Reds’ return to action, although Heyman notes that today’s clean round of testing sets them up for a potential resumption next week. MLB is understandably exercising plenty of caution in trying to forestall a possible large-scale outbreak. We’ve seen already in the cases of the Marlins and Cardinals how quickly the virus is capable of decimating a clubhouse.

Reds Claim Nick Williams

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The Reds have claimed outfielder Nick Williams off waivers from the Phillies, as first reported by Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports and confirmed by Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Williams will join his new club at the Reds’ alternate training location.

Williams, who played in 140 games for the Phillies just two years ago, has quickly been pushed out of favor in Philadelphia, thanks in part to the additions of Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen. Last year, he made just 112 plate appearances for the Phillies and largely failed to deliver, compiling a disappointing .151/.196/.245 batting line.

Nonetheless, Williams managed solid production in his first two big-league seasons: Between 2018 and 2019 (which he played at ages 23 and 24), he hit 29 home runs in 720 at-bats, posting a .269/.330/.446 slash line. He’s not far removed from that encouraging start to his career, and could certainly benefit from an expanded role with a new team.

Unfortunately, though, there’s no guarantee that such an opportunity will come in Cincinnati. As mentioned, he’ll begin his Reds career at the alternate training site and serve in a depth role, but with several existing corner outfield options, playing time might be scarce for Williams. Between Nicholas Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino, and others, it’s already a crowded mix, so we’ll have to wait and see just how Williams fits into the picture in his new environment.

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