Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Reds Rumors

Reds Release Rob Refsnyder

By | at

The Reds have released utilityman Rob Refsnyder, per the International League’s transactions page. Refsnyder had been with the organization since it acquired him from the Diamondbacks on April 7.

Prior to his exit from the Reds, Refsnyder was a clear bright spot for their last-place Triple-A team in Louisville. The 28-year-old went to the plate 334 times as a member of the club and slashed .315/.377/.500 with 10 home runs. Even in the offense-happy International League environment, Refsnyder’s production was 25 percent better than average, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric.

Solid Triple-A numbers aren’t anything new for Refsnyder, he of the .296/.372/.436 line with 35 HRs in 1,804 PA at that level. On the other hand, major league success has eluded the once-promising prospect, whom the Yankees chose in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. Across a combined 423 trips to the plate in MLB as a Yankee, Blue Jay and Ray from 2015-18, Refsnyder only managed to bat .218/.308/.302 with four homers.

Reds Release Brad Boxberger

By | at

The Reds have released right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger, Kegan Lowe of Baseball America relays.

The reunion between the Reds and Boxberger didn’t last long, as they just signed the 31-year-old to a minor league contract Aug. 6. It was the second stint with the Reds for Boxberger, whom the club spent the 43rd overall pick on back in 2009. The Reds ultimately traded Boxberger to the Padres two years later in a blockbuster that included several players who either were or have become household names.

To his credit, Boxberger has turned into a well-known commodity in his own right over the past several years. He made the American League All-Star team as a member of the Rays in 2015, the same year he led the AL in saves (41). But Boxberger’s effectiveness has waned since his final season with the Rays in 2017. He struggled a year ago as a member of the Diamondbacks, and after signing a $2.2MM contract with the Royals over the winter, Boxberger opened 2019 with a 5.40 ERA/4.67 FIP and 9.11 K/9 against 5.74 BB/9 over 26 2/3 innings.

The Royals released Boxberger in early July, after which he inked a minors pact with the Nationals’ Double-A club. The Nats quickly cut Boxberger loose, leading him to rejoni the Cincy organization. However, Boxberger had immense difficulty in 5 1/3 frames with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, yielding seven earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (with eight strikeouts).

NL Notes: Votto, Franchy, Doolittle

By | at

Reds legend Joey Votto will be eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday, but it appears that the plate discipline devotee will need at least a few more days before resuming his role as the elder statesman on the Cincy lineup card. “He’s making a lot of progress,” manager David Bell told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Still no date. I know he’s eligible tomorrow. That won’t happen. Maybe not too far behind.”

Votto did some on-field work in rehab for his lower back injury on Friday. Cincinnati has around a 1% chance of reaching the playoffs this year on the strength of a 60-67 record entering Saturday, so Votto’s return will likely be mostly about gaining a little feel-good momentum entering 2020–a year in which the Reds expect to compete, as evidenced by their deadline acquisition of ace Trevor Bauer.

More jottings from around the National League this weekend…

  • For Padres fans suffering through their 13th-consecutive season without a playoff appearance, there has been no greater “what if” story in recent years than the continued tease offered by outfielder Franchy Cordero. Long noted for his prodigious raw power and tantalizing athletic gifts, Cordero’s path toward center field playing time has been submarined by repeated injury–an unfortunate circumstance given the recent-year struggles of center fielders Wil Myers and Manuel Margot. Now, as noted in a tweet from MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, Cordero is back on the rehab trail. While it was a wonky elbow that sidelined Cordero for most of 2018 and the beginning of this year, it was a hurt quad that has delayed his rehab for the last two months. Saturday marked Cordero’s first game in the resumption of his rehabilitative assignment, as the outfielder appeared at DH in the Arizona League. Manager Andy Green, however, has apparently learned to be cautiously optimistic in regard to Franchy’s injuries–with the key word being “cautiously”. “He’s on the path toward returning,” Green said. “It’s not a short path, though.”
  • Mark Zuckerman of MASN provides partial updates on Nationals arms Roenis Elias and Sean Doolittle, saying that Elias is “heading in the right direction” and that Doolittle should be ready for activation when his IL stint is up on August 28th (Twitter link). Does it even bear repeating that the Nats are in need of as much pitching help as they can get? Elias, for his part, appeared in just one D.C. game before being felled by injury. Between Seattle and Washington this year, the veteran has a 3.59 ERA through 47.2 relief innings, although his 4.68 xFIP indicates that he should be due for some bad luck regression if he does indeed make it back soon. Doolittle, for his part, has been the subject of a great deal of armchair psychology in recent weeks, as a rough stretch of play (10 earned runs in his last 5 appearances) culminated in his placement on the 10-day injured list with a knee injury. Nats relievers have amassed a 6.00 ERA on the year.

Reds Activate Tyler Mahle, Place Jesse Winker On IL

By | at

The Reds have activated right-hander Tyler Mahle from the injured list and sent outfielder Jesse Winker to the IL (retroactive to Monday) with a cervical strain, the team announced. Mahle will head to Triple-A Louisville.

Mahle missed just over a month with a hamstring injury. Prior to that, the 24-year-old gave the Reds 102 1/3 innings and 19 starts of 4.93 ERA/4.31 FIP ball. Those numbers don’t look impressive, though Mahle also recorded 9.32 K/9 against 2.29 BB/9 and posted a solid 45.6 percent groundball rate at the same time. He’ll hope that production, not to mention whatever he does the rest of the season (if he returns to the Reds), will help him earn a place in the club’s rotation next year. The group figures to welcome back Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani then, while Kevin Gausman could join Mahle in pushing for the last spot.

Winker, meanwhile, represents another of Cincinnati’s promising young players. In his most extensive big league action to date, the 26-year-old has slashed .269/.357/.473 (113 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 38 unintentional walks and 60 strikeouts over 384 plate appearances this season. The lefty-swinging Winker hasn’t been a legitimate option this year versus southpaws, though, as he has hit just .163/.280/.163 against them in 50 PA.

Injury Notes: Kluber, Gallo, Dietrich, Casali, Robinson

By | at

After just one inning of work in a rehab start on Sunday, Corey Kluber was removed from the game due to left abdominal tightness.  (Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga was among those to report the news.)  Kluber is expected to receive further tests on Monday, though the early word is that Kluber was simply removed as a precaution.  While the Indians and their fans won’t fully exhale until those tests come back clean, it’s at least some measure of good news that Kluber didn’t have a setback involving his forearm, which was fractured back on May 1.  Sunday’s start could potentially have served as Kluber’s final rehab outing before being activated from the injured list, and now it seems as if he’ll likely have to get one more minor league start under his belt before the Tribe can be fully prepared to bring him back to the 25-man roster.

Some more on injury situations from around baseball…

  • Rangers slugger Joey Gallo is targeting a mid-September return from hamate bone surgery, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes.  The procedure back on July 25 was expected to keep Gallo out for four-to-six weeks, though since he only just started taking light swings off a tee, his recovery will be at the long end of that projected timeline.  “I don’t want any setbacks, but I think I’m going to be able to play before the season is over.  That’s the hope,” Gallo said.
  • Two injured Reds are working their way back to the club, as manager David Bell told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Derek Dietrich will begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Monday, while catcher Curt Casali starts a rehab assignment of his own on Tuesday.  Both players could be back in time for the Reds’ series against the Pirates that begins on Friday.  Dietrich hit the IL due to left shoulder inflammation on August 5, while this will actually be Casali’s second rehab stint since first being placed on the IL on July 18 with a right knee sprain.  Casali’s previous assignment was halted after two games due to soreness in his left hamstring.
  • Cardinals utilityman Drew Robinson recently underwent a season-ending, “progressive” version of Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, manager Mike Shildt told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters.  The surgery was only a partial version of the normal Tommy John procedure and it was on Robinson’s non-throwing arm, so Shildt believes Robinson will be ready for Spring Training.  Acquired in the trade that sent Patrick Wisdom to the Rangers last December, Robinson appeared in five MLB games for the Cardinals and hit .265/.385/.423 over 234 PA for Triple-A Memphis this season before hitting the injured list on June 24.  Robinson has some very solid minor league numbers over his ten pro seasons, though he hasn’t hit much over 253 Major League plate appearances with Texas and St. Louis from 2016-18.

Reds Place Joey Votto On IL

By | at

The Reds announced today they have placed first baseman Joey Votto on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain. Brian O’Grady has been recalled to replace Votto on the 25-man roster.

So continues a shockingly difficult season for the former NL MVP. Votto’s .262/.352/.410 line is the first below-average offensive performance of his career. In an era where seemingly every hitter is a threat to launch 20 home runs, Votto’s power has taken a massive dip over the past two seasons, as he’s sitting on 12 homers for the second consecutive year. As recently as 2017, though, Votto hit 36 homers and was arguably the Senior Circuit’s best hitter.

While Votto still has elite plate discipline (albeit not quite to the levels he once did), that lack of impact has to be concerning to Cincinnati, which still owes him $107MM over the next four seasons. There’s reason to believe the 35 year-old can still be a valuable player (projections, at least, believe he’s still a quality hitter based on his track record), the end of that extension certainly doesn’t seem favorable for an organization finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after a difficult decade.

O’Grady is a 27 year-old first baseman with five career MLB plate appearances, so he’s unsurprisingly not near the top of any Reds’ farm rankings. Nevertheless, he’s had a strong run at Triple-A the past year and a half.

NL Notes: Kang, Brewers, Mets, Reds

By | at

After spending several years with the Pirates, who released him Aug. 5, it’s possible free-agent infielder Jung Ho Kang will resurface in the National League Central. Kang took infield practice with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in San Antonio on Thursday, as journalist Joe Alexander noted. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel corroborated Alexander’s report Friday, tweeting that Kang has been working out with the Brewers’ top farm club. Kang and the Brewers have not reached an agreement on a minor league contract yet, though, as general manager David Stearns said the two sides still have issues to work out, per Haudricourt. The once-valuable Kang, 32, is looking to rebuild his stock after batting a hideous .169/.222/.395 in 185 plate appearances with Pittsburgh this season.

Here’s more on a pair of other NL teams…

  • Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo finally began a rehab assignment Friday at the Single-A level, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. A bulging disc in Nimmo’s neck has shelved him since May 21, meaning it’s likely he’ll need a solid amount of time to work back, as Healey notes. The Mets have charged into playoff contention in recent weeks despite Nimmo’s absence, though they’ve since lost fellow noteworthy position players Jeff McNeil, Robinson Cano and Dominic Smith to the injured list. Unlike McNeil and Smith, Nimmo was in the throes of a surprisingly difficult season when he went down. After getting on base at a .404 clip and totaling 4.5 fWAR during what looked like a breakout 2018, the 26-year-old Nimmo came out of the gates this season with a .200/.344/.323 line and 0.2 fWAR in 161 PA.
  • Cano and closer Edwin Diaz, the Mets’ two biggest winter acquisitions, have joined Nimmo in enduring trying seasons. The Mets expected the great track records of Cano and Diaz to carry to their organization when they picked up the two during the offseason in a blockbuster trade with the Mariners. Instead, they’ve struggled, and the top best prospects the Mets surrendered – outfielder Jarred Kelenic and righty Justin Dunn – have excelled, as David Schoenfield of ESPN.com observes. Kelenic and Dunn were already well-regarded prospects at the time of the deal, but their stocks have only risen this season. Both players reflected on the swap with Schoenfield, Kelenic saying: “I looked up at a TV and my name was up there as a rumor. I was like, ’Are you kidding me? Is anyone else seeing this?'” Kelenic was in disbelief the Mets were set to move him just a few months after choosing him sixth overall in the draft. As for Dunn, a Long Island native, he understands why general manager Brodie Van Wagenen dealt him. “He had to do what was best for the organization,” Dunn stated, adding that “he had to do the right move for his team, which was to try and win now.”
  • Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez departed the team’s loss to St. Louis on Friday with a left thumb sprain, per an announcement from Cincinnati. X-rays came back negative on Suarez, who’s day-to-day. The big-hitting 28-year-old’s production has taken steps back this season compared to 2018. However, Suarez has still slashed a more-than-respectable .259/.341/.530 with 33 home runs in 504 PA, further justifying the Reds’ decision to hand him a seven-year, $66MM extension prior to last season.

Reds Select Joel Kuhnel’s Contract

By | at

The Reds have selected the contract of right-hander Joel Kuhnel from Triple-A Louisville, and also called up righty Matt Bowman from their top affiliate, the club announced (Twitter link).  Kuhnel and Bowman will take the roster spots of righty Sal Romano, who was optioned to Louisville, and Jared Hughes, who was claimed off waivers by the Phillies.

This will be the 24-year-old Kuhnel’s first taste of the big leagues, coming a little over three years after being the Reds’ 11th-round pick in the 2016 draft.  Kuhnel pitched in both Double-A and Triple-A for the first time in 2019, quickly moving up the ladder thanks to a combined 2.18 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 3.13 K/BB rate over 53 2/3 relief innings.  MLB.com ranks Kuhnel as the 24th-best prospect in Cincinnati’s farm system, noting that “his fastball touches triple-digits with ease and he mixes in an 89-93 mph slider and a low-90s changeup.”

Phillies Claim Jared Hughes

By | at

The Phillies announced that righty Jared Hughes has been claimed off waivers from the Reds.  To make room on the 40-man roster, the Phils placed right-hander Edubray Ramos on the 60-day injured list.

In claiming Hughes, Philadelphia absorbs the roughly $531K still owed to the right-hander for the remainder of the season.  Hughes is in the last guaranteed season of a two-year, $4.5MM contract, though the Phillies have a club option on his services (for $3MM with a $250K buyout) for the 2020 season.  For the present, Hughes is a relatively low-cost pickup for a Phillies team that has sorely needed some help for its injury-riddled bullpen, though Hughes hasn’t been in the best of form in recent weeks.

After an outstanding debut year in Cincinnati that saw him post a 1.94 ERA over 78 2/3 innings, Hughes came back to earth in 2019, posting a 4.10 ERA, 6.3 K/9, and 1.79 K/BB rate over 48 1/3 frames.  The extreme ground-ball pitcher has continued to keep the ball out of the air, as evidenced by a 60.7% grounder rate, but he has suffered when batters have gotten some arc — Hughes has a 20% homer/fly ball rate, far above his 12.3% career average.

Despite the extra homers, however, Hughes only really started to run into some struggles recently.  He had a 2.88 ERA as late as July 24 before enduring a nightmarish inning against the Rockies on July 26 that saw him allow six runs.  That began a stretch of six outings that saw Hughes post a 10.57 ERA over 7 2/3 innings of work, with as many walks (five) as strikeouts, and not a single home run allowed to account for that damage.  Hughes also served a three-game suspension for his role in the already-infamous brawl between the Reds and Pirates on July 30.

The Reds have been one of the league’s more active teams since the trade deadline, particularly on the pitching front.  Cincinnati claimed Kevin Gausman off waivers from the Braves, signed veterans Brad Boxberger, Junichi Tazawa and Tim Collins to minor league contracts, and parted ways with Hughes and David Hernandez.  Since it seemed Hughes was no longer in the club’s plans for 2020, the Reds save a bit of cash by letting him go to the Phillies now rather than paying a buyout at season’s end.

Jose Iglesias Interested In Re-Signing With Reds

By | at

Jose Iglesias has been an effective pickup at a low price for the Reds, who inked the former Boston and Detroit shortstop to a minor league contract last winter. Although he had to settle for a non-guaranteed deal, Iglesias earned a spot on the Reds’ roster and a $2.5MM salary coming into the season. The 29-year-old has since turned into a starter for Cincinnati, where he has batted .290/.321/.417 with a career-high eight home runs in 390 plate appearances.

It’s possible the slick-fielding Iglesias’ output this year will be enough to convince a team to sign him to a major league pact prior to next season. Whether or not that happens, Iglesias would like to stay in Cincy, he explained to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

“We haven’t gotten deep into that conversation yet. It’s going to happen soon, I guess,” Iglesias said. “Man, I love this group. That’s all I can say. This is where I belong. I don’t know, it’s totally out of my hands after that. I’ve enjoyed every single day I’ve come to the ballpark and leading by example, helping the younger players, and I’m very, very happy to be here.”

The Reds are also open to continuing their relationship with Iglesias, with president of baseball operations Dick Williams telling Sheldon that the club “could have any combination of (Jose) Peraza, (Freddy) Galvis and Iglesias on the team next year. None currently have guaranteed contracts, but we have interest in all of them as well as control over some of them, and we’ll evaluate how the pieces best fit together.”

Peraza, Galvis and Iglesias are currently part of a Reds middle infield mix that also includes Josh VanMeter, Kyle Farmer and the injured Derek Dietrich. Among Peraza, Galvis and Iglesias, the former has posted the least productive 2019. After racking up encouraging numbers last year, Peraza has only hit .241/.287/.355 in 321 trips to the plate this season. He’s on a $2.775MM salary and controllable via arbitration two more times. Galvis, just claimed from the Blue Jays on waivers this week, has a $5.5MM club option (or a $1MM buyout) for 2020. This has been a respectable campaign for the 29-year-old switch-hitter, owner of a .274/.305/.456 slash with 19 homers over 479 PA.

With everyone from the above group looking like candidates to return next season, the Reds once again appear as if they’ll have no shortage of in-house middle infield choices. However, Cincinnati could nonetheless seek higher-upside possibilities than Iglesias and the rest during the winter, when Williams and general manager Nick Krall figure to make an earnest attempt to construct a playoff-caliber roster. The Reds (56-63) have made obvious strides this year, but they’re still on pace for their sixth straight sub-.500 season, leaving room for improvement in their middle infield and elsewhere.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top