- The Reds recently released reliever Louis Coleman, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. The 31-year-old righty was putting up strong numbers at Triple-A, where he carried a 2.21 ERA through 36 2/3 frames. (In fact, it’s worth wondering whether Coleman exercised an opt-out, though that’s just speculation at this time.) Coleman landed with the Reds organization on a minors deal after giving the Dodgers 48 innings of 4.69 ERA pitching last year after missing much of the prior campaign.
Reds Rumors
Reds Place Zack Cozart, Bronson Arroyo On Disabled List
The Reds announced today that they’ve placed shortstop Zack Cozart and right-hander Bronson Arroyo on the disabled list. Cozart has been diagnosed with a strained right quadriceps, and his DL stint is retroactive to Sunday. Arroyo has been diagnosed with a strained right shoulder.
In a pair of corresponding moves, the Reds have recalled outfielder Jesse Winker and right-hander Ariel Hernandez from Triple-A Louisville and Double-A Pensacola, respectively.
The news regarding Arroyo comes just one day after the 40-year-old righty made some characteristically candid comments about the strong possibility that his career could be over. Arroyo, whose comeback attempt in 2017 has resulted in a 7.35 ERA through 71 innings, told reporters, “That could have been the last time I was on the field, yeah.” For now, at least, it seems that he’ll take some time to rest his right arm and assess whether he’s able to continue onward.
As for Cozart, the 31-year-old is in the midst of a career-year at the plate — building nicely upon the power increase he showed in 2015-16. Through 255 trips to the plate this season, he’s batting a ridiculous .320/.404/.562 with nine home runs, and while some of that is clearly fueled by an unsustainable .367 BABIP, there are also legitimate indicators of improvement. Cozart’s 12.5 percent walk rate is a career-best, and he’s chasing pitches out of the strike zone less often than he ever has in his Major League career (26.2 percent).
The extent of the injury to Cozart remains to be seen, though certainly it behooves both team and player for the absence to be minimal in nature. Cozart is set to reach free agency for the first time in his career at season’s end, and any prolonged stay on the DL (for a third straight season) would harm his free-agent stock. And, as an impending free agent, he’s also a prime trade piece for the Reds, as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne noted last night in the latest installment of our Taking Inventory series.
With Cozart on the disabled list, the Reds could move second baseman Jose Peraza over to shortstop for a brief period, turning to one of the many utility options the club possesses to handle second base for a time. That’d include hot-hitting Scooter Gennett and versatile Arismendy Alcantara, each of whom has plenty of experience there.
Taking Inventory: Cincinnati Reds
This is the seventh entry in MLBTR’s Taking Inventory series. Click for entries on the White Sox, Royals, Phillies, Pirates, Giants and Padres.
After entering the season expected to finish as one of the majors’ worst teams, the Reds got off to a hot start and then hung around .500 through late May. But since holding a 19-15 mark on May 11, the Reds have lost 24 of 34 to fall to 29-39 and plummet to last place in the National League Central. Now, with the trade deadline approaching, they look like surefire sellers.
Rentals
Zack Cozart, SS | Salary: $5.325MM
There are questions regarding how much demand there will be for shortstops at this year’s deadline, which could hinder the Reds’ efforts to net a quality return for Cozart. Nevertheless, the impending free agent has done his part to drive up his value. The 31-year-old served as a roughly league-average player from 2012-16, but he’s now in the midst of a shockingly great season. Cozart has slashed .320/.404/.562 across 255 plate appearances. Thanks to that output and his typically effective work in the field (four Defensive Runs Saved, 8.5 UZR/150), he’s tied with three established superstars – Joey Votto (his teammate), Bryce Harper and Mookie Betts – and Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks for fourth among position players in fWAR (2.9). That figure represents a career best for Cozart, whose trade value could increase if interested teams feel he can play another position. The Red Sox, for example, are set at shortstop but have a glaring need at third base. Cozart has spent his entire career at short since debuting in 2011.
Drew Storen, RP | Salary: $3MM
Realizing they weren’t going to compete this year, it’s fair to say the Reds signed Storen with the goal of flipping him at the deadline. The 29-year-old has pitched well enough this season to make that a real possibility, having recorded a 2.45 ERA, 7.67 K/9, 3.99 BB/9 and a stellar 54.1 percent ground-ball rate in 29 1/3 innings. Storen’s velocity has continued on a downward plane, and his ERA estimators aren’t nearly as kind as his actual run prevention numbers (3.82 FIP, 4.00 SIERA, 4.71 xFIP), but it’s a good bet that some playoff hopeful(s) will want the former closer.
Scott Feldman, SP/RP | Salary: $2.3MM
As with Storen, Feldman has seemed like a very short-term Band-Aid for the Reds since the minute they took a cheap flyer on him in the offseason. While Feldman, 34, has emerged as the ace of the Reds’ staff this year, that merely indicates how poor and injury plagued their rotation has been. To Feldman’s credit, he has performed like a bona fide back-end type, with a 4.29 ERA/ 4.28 FIP, 7.18 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9 over 77 2/3 frames. Feldman’s probably not going to interest playoff contenders searching for mid-rotation starters, but he could garner looks from teams that want someone to competently soak up innings from the rotation and/or the bullpen down the stretch. That was the case at the deadline last year, when the postseason-bound Blue Jays sent a teenage pitcher, Lupe Chavez, to the Astros for Feldman.
Controlled Through 2018
Devin Mesoraco, C | Salary: $7.325MM in 2017; $13.125MM in 2018
Mesoraco broke out in 2014, hitting .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs, leading the Reds to sign the offense-first backstop to a four-year, $28MM extension. Little went right over the next two years for Mesoraco, whom injuries limited to 106 PAs and a woeful .158/.245/.500 line with no homers. Mesoraco became somewhat of an afterthought as a result, but the 28-year-old has quietly rebounded this season to slash .235/.343/.518 with six homers and career highs in walk rate (12.1 percent) and isolated power (.282) across 99 trips to the plate. That’s an admittedly small sample, though, and it’s debatable how much in-season trade value he’d have as a somewhat expensive player fresh off a couple of lost years.
Blake Wood, RP | Salary: $1.275MM in 2017; arbitration eligible in 2018
The 31-year-old righty was decent last year, his first with the Reds, and has contributed respectable production again this season. The hard-throwing Wood entered Sunday ranked ninth among relievers in grounder rate (60.9 percent), and he’s currently running a career-best 3.63 ERA through 34 2/3 frames. Wood has also registered acceptable strikeout (9.09) and walk (4.15) rates per nine. With all of that considered, it’s easy to imagine a bullpen-needy playoff contender with a capable infield defense and/or a small ballpark having interest in the grounder-heavy, inexpensive Wood.
Longer-Term Assets
Joey Votto, 1B; Raisel Iglesias, RP; Billy Hamilton, CF; Adam Duvall, OF; Scott Schebler, OF; Eugenio Suarez, 3B; Anthony DeSclafani, SP; Brandon Finnegan, SP; Scooter Gennett, IF/OF; Michael Lorenzen, RP; Wandy Peralta, RP
Votto, who inked a 10-year, $225MM contract extension in 2012, is both the Reds’ most expensive player and the crown jewel of the franchise. The potential Hall of Famer is enjoying yet another all-world season and would improve most (or all) big-spending contenders’ situations at first base. Votto has a no-trade clause, though, and suggested over the winter that he’d like to mimic retired San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan and the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady by playing his entire career in one place. Before that, Reds general manager Dick Williams stated he hadn’t had any discussions with Votto about waiving his no-trade clause. The reality is, Votto’s not going anywhere.
The rest of the Reds’ longer-term assets are probably safe bets to at least last the season in Cincinnati. Of course, there was interest this past offseason in Hamilton, whose fading team control (he’s signed through 2019) could make him a legitimate trade candidate soon. The 26-year-old has continued his light-hitting ways this season, but the baserunning brilliance and defensive excellence that have made him valuable throughout his career remain intact.
Hamilton’s outfield mates, Duvall and Schebler, are much different players than the speedster. But the two sluggers have turned into real finds for Cincinnati and emerged as viable regulars. The 26-year-old Schebler isn’t even eligible for arbitration until 2020, while Duvall (28) won’t go through the arb process until 2019. Given both their cheap control and production, the two corner outfielders would likely warrant quality returns in trades, but there’s no indication the Reds are interested in moving either player.
Similarly, both Suarez and Gennett have been solid pickups for the Reds, with the former in the midst of what could be a breakout year and the latter having recently turned in the first four-home run game in team history. That was an anomaly for Gennett (as it would be for any player, but especially one who has never been much of a power threat), who’s nonetheless in the midst of a nice season and previously put up a couple league-average campaigns in Milwaukee. Although the 27-year-old Gennett joined the Reds via waivers at the end of March, he has probably at least built some trade value since then. The utilityman’s affordable this season ($2.525MM) and controllable through 2019. Suarez is under wraps through 2020 and currently on a near-minimum salary ($595K), but the 25-year-old seems a lot likelier than Gennett to be part of the Reds’ long-term core. Assuming Cozart doesn’t stick around, Suarez could shift to shortstop (his previous position) when highly touted third base prospect Nick Senzel eventually comes up to the majors.
Elsewhere, the Reds have several young starting pitchers, but DeSclafani and Finnegan stand out as the most promising. A sprained ulnar collateral ligament has kept DeSclafani out all season, however, and he might not debut until August. Finnegan, meanwhile, has been out since April on account of a shoulder issue. While he’ll be back sooner than DeSclafani, the Reds aren’t going to sell low on either of these two this season.
Conversely, the Reds would be selling high on some of their top bullpen assets – Iglesias, Lorenzen and Peralta. Iglesias has turned into a premier reliever since shifting from the Reds’ rotation last season, and the 27-year-old signed a very reasonable contract with the club in 2014 after fleeing his native Cuba. Of course, Iglesias only went to the bullpen in the first place because of shoulder problems, so there’s a case to be made that Cincinnati should at least listen to any offers that might come in for the dominant righty prior to the deadline. While Lorenzen and Peralta aren’t on Igleslias’ level, they’re good and cheap. The former won’t hit arbitration for the first time until the upcoming offseason and the latter is a pre-arb player through the 2019 campaign. Each of these 25-year-olds would intrigue teams looking for relievers, but there’s nothing to suggest that Williams is going to put either on the block.
Bronson Arroyo's Career Could Be Over
After lasting just three innings and allowing five earned runs on seven hits in a loss to the Dodgers on Sunday, Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo admitted to reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinati Enquirer) that his career could be over. “You have to put up enough quality starts for a ballclub to want to keep you around, you know?” said the 40-year-old. “That could have been the last time I was on the field, yeah. It’s just the way it is.” Given that injuries kept Arroyo out of action between August 2014 and the start of this season, it’s somewhat remarkable that he has even rebounded to make 14 starts in 2017. But most of the longtime innings eater’s appearances this season haven’t gone well, as he has logged a 7.35 ERA and allowed a major league-worst 23 home runs over 71 frames. Arroyo has also battled soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder, contributing to his poor output. “I was hoping my arm would continue to get better and better as the year has gone on,” stated Arroyo. “It’s almost like it’s telling me ‘Hey man, I’m not going to run this race for you anymore.’’
Here’s more from the majors’ Central divisions:
- The Tigers announced Sunday that they’ve recalled righty Anibal Sanchez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned fellow righty Buck Farmer. Sanchez will make his first major league start of the year Monday against the Mariners. After getting off to a poor start out of the Tigers’ bullpen this season, the 33-year-old Sanchez requested a demotion to the minors in May so he could work out of Toledo’s rotation. Since then, Sanchez has pitched to an underwhelming 4.60 ERA over 15 2/3 innings and four starts, though he has also notched 11.49 K/9, 2.87 BB/9 and a 45.2 percent ground-ball rate. Sanchez, who’s in a contract year and making $16MM, has been a quality big leaguer for most of his career, but he hasn’t been particularly effective since 2014.
- With his expensive salary, Sanchez has been a key part of the Tigers’ high payrolls in recent years. As mentioned, though, he’ll be off the books after this season, when the Tigers plan to tamp down their spending. “I don’t think you’ll see us spending over $200 million on payroll like we have in past. You’ll see more lean payroll,” general manager Al Avila told MLB Network Radio on Sunday (Twitter link). Detroit is right around the $200MM threshold at the moment, per Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource, but has only managed a 32-36 record and is on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.
- As of 10 days ago, Major League Baseball was looking into domestic violence allegations against Cubs shortstop Addison Russell. A resolution to the matter doesn’t seem to be in sight, writes the Chicago Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmyer, as Russell told him, “As far as I know I haven’t heard anything, and that’s where I’m going to leave it.”
Zack Cozart Might Not Draw Much Deadline Interest
Even though Reds shortstop Zack Cozart has surprisingly been among the majors’ best players this year, there probably won’t be many teams bidding for him at the trade deadline, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required and recommended). Most contenders are in search of pitching, not shortstops, which could hinder the Reds’ efforts to land a quality return for the free agent-to-be. The same lack of demand at shortstop might end up applying to both first base and the outfield, observes Olney, who notes that it may be a problem for Pittsburgh if it tries move Andrew McCutchen or Kansas City in the event it markets Eric Hosmer and/or Lorenzo Cain.
Reds Designate Asher Wojciechowski For Assignment
The Reds have designated right-hander Asher Wojciechowski for assignment, the club announced as one of several roster moves. Righty Jake Buchanan has also been optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla has been recalled from the minors and catcher Stuart Turner has been activated from the disabled list.
Wojciechowski signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in April and was promoted to the bigs last month, where he delivered a 6.75 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 4.5 K/BB rate over 21 1/3 IP (starting four of his six appearances). This was more MLB experience than the righty has clocked in his previous seven pro seasons, as Wojciechowski’s only other time in the majors consisted of a five-game stint with Houston in 2015. Drafted 41st overall by the Blue Jays in 2010, Wojciechowski has a career 3.99 ERA over 742 minor league innings with four different organizations.
Today’s transactions represent another shuffling of the Reds’ pitching options as the team continues to look for some kind of production from the mound. Cincy’s starters have combined for an ugly 6.01 ERA this season, easily the worst in baseball. Wojciechowski had been slated to start for the Reds this coming Friday, though that spot is now undecided. C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that Homer Bailey won’t be Friday’s starter, as the righty is still not quite yet ready to return from February surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow.
Reds Sign Fourth-Rounder Cash Case
- The Reds have signed fourth-rounder Cash Case for $1M, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. The Florida high school shortstop will presumably need some sort of bag or other implement to carry that hefty sum, which comes in at significantly above the pick value of $501,900. Case has the potential to become an offensively-minded second baseman, Callis notes. Case did not rank in MLB.com’s top 200, but Baseball America rated him the No. 324 prospect in the draft. He was committed to Notre Dame.
Draft Notes: Lewis, McKay, Day 2, Gore, Greene, Wright, Beck
No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis will take his physical with the Twins soon, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. There aren’t expected to be any hangups in negotiations, per Berardino, who notes that the industry expectation is for Lewis to receive a bonus north of Dansby Swanson’s $6.5MM bonus from the 2015 draft. The top pick in the draft came with a slot value of $7.7MM, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger wrote this week that Lewis could sign for around $1MM less than that sum. That’d put his bonus in the $6.5MM to $6.7MM range, saving the Twins anywhere from $1MM to $1.2MM from the slot value. FanRag’s Jon Heyman pegs the expected value at “just a tick over” $6.7MM. Rays top pick Brendan McKay, meanwhile, is expected to sign for somewhere between $7MM and $7.2MM, according to Berardino. That’d be the largest bonus ever given to a college player under the current draft structure, surpassing Kris Bryant’s $6.7MM sum.
More notes on the draft…
- The Twins “crushed” Day 2 of the draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis opines. Adding high school right-hander Blayne Enlow, a potential first-round talent that dropped due to a strong commitment to LSU, kicked off a day in which Minnesota selected five players that ranked inside MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Enlow, Callis writes, has the best curveball in the draft as well as a fastball that has touched 94 mph and has room to grow as his projectable frame grows. Callis also lauds the White Sox, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers for the talent they secured in rounds three through 10. ESPN’s Keith Law agrees that the Twins did quite well to land Enlow with the No. 76 pick and also gives quite a bit of praise to the Athletics, who landed a first-round talent (in his estimation) with the 81st pick by taking shortstop Nick Allen. Law opines that the undersized Allen, who is listed at 5’8″, would’ve been a top 10 pick if he were three inches taller.
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman provides some insight into the progress being made with the top five picks in the draft. The Padres, according to Heyman, are expected to sign No. 3 overall pick MacKenzie Gore, a high school left-hander, for the full slot value of $6,668,100. Reds top pick Hunter Greene, meanwhile, is expected to sign for a deal “close” to the $7,193,200 slot value of his No. 2 overall selection, per Heyman. (Also of note for Reds fans: Heyman spoke to a rival exec who heaped praise on the Reds’ draft, opining that they “won the draft by far.”) And the Braves look to be going well over slot to sign Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, as Heyman reports that they’re discussing a deal worth close to $7MM, while the No. 5 slot carries a value of $5,707,300. Of course, Wright was long rumored to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, so it stands to reason that he’d come with a fairly sizable price tag.
- Baseball America’s John Manuel reported yesterday that Stanford right-hander Tristan Beck, a potential first-round talent that missed the 2017 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, will not sign and plans to head back to Stanford (Twitter link). That didn’t stop the Yankees from drafting him late (29th round), though New York would obviously need to give him a massive bonus in order to convince him to forgo a return to college, as a healthy Beck would do quite well in next year’s draft. The Yankees may not have the leftover money even to make a legitimate effort to sign Beck, though he makes for a nice contingency plan if the team unexpectedly finds itself with some extra pool money to play with.
Reds Heavily Linked To Hunter Greene
- As is always the case on draft day, there are a number of last-minute mock drafts from some industry experts that readers and draft followers will want to check out. Both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com agree that the top five picks will go Brendan McKay (Twins), Hunter Greene (Reds), MacKenzie Gore (Padres), Royce Lewis (Rays) and Keston Hiura (Braves). That, somewhat surprisingly, would leave Kyle Wright out of the top five, though Callis has him going sixth to the A’s, while Mayo has him going seventh to the D-backs. BA’s John Manuel agrees with that top three, though he has high school outfielder Bubba Thompson going to the Rays and Wright going to the Braves at No. 5. ESPN’s Keith Law also published a draft-day mock, listing McKay, Greene, Gore, Lewis and Wright as his respective top five.
Draft Notes: Twins, Reds, Rays, Braves
A day before the start of the 2017 MLB Draft, here are the current rumblings.
- The Twins look likely to select Vanderbilt righty Kyle Wright or Louisville two-way player Brendan McKay with the first overall pick, John Manuel of Baseball America writes in his last mock (which came out Friday). Late last week, Jim Callis of MLB.com suggested the Twins were leaning toward McKay, although it seems the first pick is still the subject of some uncertainty. Both sources have the Reds taking California high school righty Hunter Greene at No. 2 and the Padres going with North Carolina high school lefty MacKenzie Gore at No. 3, although those picks could seemingly change based on what the Twins end up doing. (ESPN’s Keith Law, by the way, has a long profile of Greene, calling him “the best prospect in the draft class and one of the most gifted teenage players I’ve ever seen,” even as he notes that kind of praise can lead to burdensome expectations.)
- Interestingly, Jonathan Mayo’s latest update in the MLB.com link above cites speculation that the Rays at No. 4 and the Braves at No. 5 could make predraft deals with players to save money against the value of their picks and then go after highly regarded talents in later rounds. (The Rays have a pool of about $12.5MM, with the Braves at just under $10MM.) One possibility should the Rays go that route is Alabama high school outfielder Bubba Thompson, who MLB.com currently rates as the No. 26 prospect in the draft. Atlanta could do something similar, but they could also take Wright or California high school SS/OF Royce Lewis if those players are still available when they make their first selection.
- It’s possible you remember Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, as the small batboy being yanked away from home plate by J.T. Snow in the 2002 World Series. Now, though, Darren is an outfield prospect with a commitment to Cal. Dusty says, though, that Darren will honor that commitment unless he’s drafted “real, real high,” according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
