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Reds Sign Justus Sheffield To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed left-hander Justus Sheffield to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the Complex League for now but will presumably move up to a higher affiliate after getting into game shape.

Sheffield, 28, will be looking to get back on track after some disappointing results in recent years, though he was once thought to be a future mainstay in the big leagues. Cleveland selected him 31st overall in the 2014 draft and the lefty was twice used as a notable piece of a significant trade. He was sent to the Yankees as part of the 2016 deadline deal that sent Andrew Miller the other way, then was traded to the Mariners after 2018 as part of the deal that sent James Paxton to the Bronx.

He was clearly a hot commodity during that time, looking at that draft selection and his inclusion in those trades. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 100 prospects in four straight seasons from 2016 to 2019, putting him as high as #27 in the last of those years. That was based on a very strong 2018 campaign, wherein Sheffield tossed 116 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.48 earned run average, 25.9% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. He also made a brief major league debut with the Yanks, while just 22 years old, before going to Seattle in the aforementioned Paxton trade.

But his time in Seattle didn’t see him deliver on his huge prospect hype. He generally floundered with the Mariners and even struggled with their Triple-A team in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He currently sports a 5.47 ERA in 186 major league innings, spread out over the 2018 to 2022 period. He got ground balls on 49.5% of balls in play in that time but his 18.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate were both subpar.

He also tossed 244 1/3 minor league innings from 2019 to 2022 but had a 5.49 ERA in that time, again with fairly uninspiring peripherals. He struck out 21.2% of batters who stepped to the plate while giving out free passes 10.3% of the time.

The Mariners tried moving him to the bullpen, giving him ten relief appearances in Triple-A to start 2023, but his struggles continued and he was released in late April. He landed a minor league deal with Atlanta and that club let him return to the rotation, but he wasn’t able to turn things around with the change of scenery. He finished the year with a 7.63 ERA in 63 2/3 frames between the two organizations. He struck out just 19.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 15.2% clip.

He returned to free agency at the end of the season and has lingered there until this deal. For the Reds, there’s little harm in signing this deal and getting an up-close look at Sheffield. Despite his many trials and tribulations, he’s still almost two years away from his 30th birthday, which gives him plenty of time to engineer a second act.

If the Reds plan to stretch him out as a starter, it will likely take a few weeks for him to build up his pitch count. They do have some question marks in their rotation, as Graham Ashcraft was recently optioned to the minors after some poor results and Brandon Williamson had his rehab shut down due to continued discomfort in his throwing shoulder.

For now, the Cincinnati rotation consists of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and Frankie Montas, with guys like Nick Martinez, Carson Spiers, Connor Phillips, Lyon Richardson and Christian Roa candidates to take Ashcraft’s spot. In the longer term, Montas is an impending free agent while Martinez has an opt-out at the end of this year, meaning the depth could be thinned down the road. Though on the other hand, prospect liks Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty are currently in Double-A and will climb into the mix eventually.

Sheffield has less than three years of service time and one option year remaining. If he can get his performance back to his prospect days and earn a roster spot, he could provide the club with some rotation depth and the possibility for long-term benefit if things go especially well.

Hank Foiles Passes Away

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Former All Star catcher Hank Foiles passed away late last month at the age of 94, as noted by various sources including Jami Frankenberry of The Virginian-Pilot. An veteran of 11 major league seasons, Foiles played for the Reds, Indians, Pirates, Athletics, Tigers, Orioles, and Angels throughout his time in the big leagues.

Foiles started his professional career at the age of 19 as a member of the Yankees organization back in 1948, but he didn’t make his big league debut for several years. He was selected in the 1951 Rule 5 draft by the Reds but didn’t make his big league debut with the club until 1953. He appeared in just 12 games at the big league level that season between Cincinnati and Cleveland and collected three hits across his first 20 major league at-bats. Foiles wouldn’t play at the big league level in 1954 but split time with Hal Naragon as the backup to five-time All Star Jim Hegan in 1955. In 132 plate appearances that year, Foiles hit .261 with a solid .354 on-base percentage.

Foiles would appear in just one more game with Cleveland before being traded to Pittsburgh during the 1956 season. Although he had a down season at the plate during his first year with the club, his years in Pittsburgh would prove to be the most significant of his career as he earned the everyday catching job for the Pirates in 1957 and 1958. Foiles made the lone All Star appearance of his career in 1957 when he combined his glove-first profile with above average offense to slash .270/.352/.431 in 109 games.

On the 1957 NL All Star team, he joined legends of the game such as Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, and Henry Aaron opposite AL legends like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. Foiles pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with Willie Mays on third base and drew a wild pitch to score Mays and bring the NL within two before delivering a single against longtime White Sox ace Billy Pierce. Foiles later scored from second on a single by Ernie Banks, though the NL would go on to lose the game 6-5.

Foiles would remain in Pittsburgh for two more seasons following his All Star season, and though his offense took step backward with a .209/.314/.355 line between the next two campaigns, he nonetheless made 157 appearances and 402 trips to the plate across those two seasons. 1960 saw Foiles change organizations multiple times, as he was traded from the Pirates to the then-Kansas City Athletics during the 1959-60 offseason but appeared in just six games with the club before being returned to the Pirates. He was then traded to Cleveland to act as their back-up catcher before a late July deal sent him to the Tigers. He finished the 1960 season in Detroit but was selected in the Rule V Draft for the second time that November, putting him in five different organizations over the course of one calendar year.

Over the next two years, Foiles would find his groove at the plate again as a back-up catcher for the Orioles and Reds with a combined slash line of .275/.338/.482 across 43 games. Foiles found himself on the move again in 1963 when he joined the Angels, and he appeared in 45 games for the club over the next two seasons with a roughly league average slash line of .216/.289/.386. He played his final game in the big leagues just a month before his 35th birthday on May 2, 1964. A career .243/.321/.392 hitter who appeared in 608 big league games, Foiles tallied 353 hits, 46 home runs, and 166 RBI during a solid major league career.

We at MLBTR offer our condolences to the Foiles family and to his friends, fans, and others who are mourning him around the game.

Reds Shut Down Brandon Williamson’s Rehab Assignment

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Reds lefty Brandon Williamson hasn’t pitched in the majors this season due to a shoulder strain he suffered back in spring training. He’d been out on a minor league rehab stint and looked to be nearing a potential return, but things have now hit a snag. The Reds announced today that Williamson has been pulled back from his rehab assignment — but not reinstated to the roster. Rather, he’s remaining on the injured list.

That typically indicates a setback, and shortly after the announcement, manager David Bell indeed announced to the Reds beat that Williamson is experiencing continued discomfort in his ailing shoulder (X link via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). He’ll be shut down for at least the next seven days while the Reds see how his shoulder responds and evaluate their options.

It’s poor timing for Williamson, who looked as though he might have a rotation spot to fight for upon his return. Cincinnati optioned struggling righty Graham Ashcraft to Triple-A Louisville yesterday, creating an opening in the rotation behind Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Frankie Montas and Andrew Abbott. The Reds have other options to fill that spot — Nick Martinez and Carson Spiers among them — but Williamson’s apparent setback is a most unwelcome development, given that he’s an intriguing young arm and potential building block for the staff.

Williamson, selected by the Mariners out of TCU in the second round of the 2019 draft, went from Seattle to Cincinnati as part of the swap sending Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the M’s. The 6’6″ southpaw was ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects by Baseball America at the time of the trade and wound up making his MLB debut with the Reds last year. In 23 starts, he pitched to a respectable 4.46 ERA, though that number is perhaps skewed by a rough arrival in the majors.

Williamson posted a 5.82 ERA through his first eight starts but rebounded with 78 1/3 innings of 3.79 ERA ball in his final 15 trips to the hill. After posting lackluster strikeout and walk rates of 17% and 9.9%, respectively, in those first eight outings, the Minnesota native settled in with stronger marks of 21.6%  and 6.9% in the season’s final three months. It was a strong finish to his season, and when adding in 34 Triple-A frames to his 117 MLB innings, Williams closed out the year with a career-high 151 frames. Between his late performance and his lack of workload concerns, it seemed as though he’d pitched is way onto the Reds’ starting five — or at the very least into the conversation.

Any such arrival will now be further delayed. The Reds haven’t provided further details, but it’s obviously a worrisome sign when a pitcher who’s missed more than two months with a shoulder strain reports discomfort on the heels of a fourth rehab appearance. Presumably, the Reds will provide further details at some point next weekend or early in the following week. For now, Williamson will continue to accrue big league pay and service time on the 60-day injured list. He entered the season with 139 days of MLB service and has already reached one year, placing him on course to reach arbitration after the 2025 season as a Super Two player and free agency after the 2029 campaign.

Pirates Sign Justin Bruihl To Major League Deal

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2:55pm: The Pirates have now made it official and announced the corresponding moves. Right-hander Quinn Priester has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 3, with a right lat muscle injury. To open a 40-man spot, lefty Ryan Borucki has been transferred to the 60-day IL. Borucki has already been on the IL for 60 days, landing there April 6 due to left triceps inflammation. He is eligible to be reinstated at any time but he has not yet begun a rehab assignment.

1:25pm: The Pirates are going to sign left-hander Justin Bruihl to a major league deal this afternoon, reports Alex Stumpf of MLB.com on X. They will need to make a corresponding move or moves to get him onto their 40-man and active rosters.

The lefty signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason but was released earlier this week, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible he had some kind of opt-out in his contract because his results have been pretty good so far this year.

Bruihl, 27 later this month, had been with Triple-A Louisville until recently. He threw 23 1/3 innings over 19 appearances for that club, allowing 2.31 earned runs per nine frames. His 10.3% walk rate in that time was a tad on the high side but he also struck out 24.7% of batters faced while getting grounders on 53.4% of balls in play.

That wasn’t enough to get him onto the big league roster in Cincinnati but the Pirates will bring him back to the majors. Bruihl had some good results for the Dodgers a couple of years ago but struggled last season. He had an ERA of 2.89 with Los Angeles in 2021 and then 3.80 the year after, but had some rough outings in 2023 and got flipped to the Rockies in a cash deal. He had a 5.46 ERA last year between those two clubs and was outrighted by Colorado.

He reached free agency at season’s end, which led to his minors deal with the Reds and he seems to have bounced back enough this year to have caught Pittsburgh’s attention. He’s generally been more of a ground ball guy in the majors, striking out just 15.6% of batters faced but keeping the ball on the ground 45.5% of the time.

The Bucs currently have Aroldis Chapman as the only lefty in their big league bullpen, so Bruihl will give them a second southpaw in the relief mix. Bruihl still has one option year remaining, giving the clubs the flexibility to send him to the minors in the future without exposing him to waivers. If he manages to hang onto his 40-man spot, the Bucs can keep him around for a long time. He came into 2024 with one year and 39 days of service time, 133 days short of the two-year mark. Since more than two months of the season have already passed, he doesn’t have enough days to get to that two-year line this year.

Reds Option Graham Ashcraft

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The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve optioned struggling right-hander Graham Ashcraft to Triple-A Louisville. His spot on the roster will go to reliever Emilio Pagan, who’s being reinstated after a stint on the 15-day injured list due to a triceps injury.

It’s the first time Ashcraft, 26, has been optioned to the minors since May 2022, when he was sent down a day after making his MLB debut in a spot start. The 2019 sixth-rounder started 19 games for Cincinnati in 2022 and another 26 games last year. Were it not for a calf strain and a stress reaction in his foot, he’d have been ticketed for a full slate of starts in the Reds’ rotation last season.

Though Ashcraft has struggled with consistency, he’s at times looked the part of a viable third or fourth starter in the Reds’ rotation. He opened last season with a dominant 2.00 ERA in his first six trips to the hill, and while his K-BB profile didn’t support quite that level of success, he was showing huge ground-ball tendencies and finding success with a new cutter and revamped slider that looked far better than his 2022 version of the same pitch.

A disastrous stretch followed, wherein Ashcraft was shellacked for 47 earned runs in 33 innings over his next eight starts — including outings that saw him yield ten, eight, seven (twice) and six earned runs. Lost as he looked in that span of six weeks, Ashcraft then rattled off a dozen starts of 2.58 ERA ball to close out his season, averaging 6 1/3 innings per start along the way and never allowing more than three runs in any one start. The big righty still had a subpar strikeout rate in that excellent run but offset that flaw with improved command and strong ground-ball tendencies. It was a promising finish to a season — one that seemed to speak louder than his ultimately pedestrian 4.76 ERA.

The 2024 season has again been a struggle, though not to the extent of last year’s eye-popping slump. Ashcraft currently sports a 5.05 ERA with a well below-average 17.4% strikeout rate but a strong 7.5% walk rate and encouraging 49% ground-ball rate. However, after averaging more than six innings per start down the stretch last year and pitching into the sixth inning in five of his first six starts this season, Ashcraft has struggled with efficiency of late. He’s pitched into the sixth just once in his past six trips to the hill. Though he’s averaging less than 4 2/3 frames per outing in this stretch, he’s done so while requiring an average of 89 pitches along the way.

Unsurprisingly, Ashcraft’s results have suffered. He posted a 3.63 ERA through his first six starts but has turned in a 6.83 mark since that time. His walk rate has spiked from 6.1% to 9%, and his strikeout rate has fallen from 20.1% to 14.3%. He’ll now try to get back on track in Louisville.

From a service time vantage point, Ashcraft’s demotion isn’t likely to alter his path to free agency. He entered the season with 1.136 years of MLB service, meaning he only needed another 36 days to reach two years and stay on track for free agency in the 2028-29 offseason. That said, he was on track to be a very likely Super Two player, making him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three, and that’ll become unlikely if his stay in Louisville lasts more than a couple weeks.

The Reds will continue to deploy a rotation including Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and Frankie Montas. Veteran swingman Nick Martinez, signed to a two-year deal, could step back into the rotation in place of Ashcraft for the time being. Triple-A starters Connor Phillips, Christian Roa, Lyon Richardson and Carson Spiers are all on the 40-man roster and could represent alternative options, but Spiers is the only one of that group who’s pitched particularly well in Louisville this season. He’s made four long relief appearances for Cincinnati already this season, totaling 13 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball. Lefty Brandon Williamson has yet to pitch in the big leagues this season due to a shoulder injury but is another candidate, as he’s made four minor league rehab starts and is nearing the end of his rehab window.

Reds Select Blake Dunn

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville, with infielder/outfielder Nick Martini optioned in a corresponding move. They already had an open 40-man spot after first baseman Mike Ford was designated for assignment last week.

Dunn, 25, was a 15th-round selection of the Reds in 2021 and collected a bonus of $125K. As one would expect with that modest draft selection and bonus, Dunn wasn’t considered one of the club’s top prospects, but he has improved his stock with some strong play lately.

Last year, he got into 124 minor league contests, split between High-A and Double-A. He drew a walk in 11.1% of his 559 plate appearances and also hit 23 home runs. He finished the year with a combined batting line of .312/.425/.522 and a 158 wRC+ while also stealing 54 bases and playing all three outfield positions.

Coming into 2024, Baseball America ranked him the #14 prospect in the organization while FanGraphs had him at #15, though he hasn’t carried over his tremendous offensive showing from 2023. The Reds bumped him to Triple-A and his walk rate is up to 13.3% but his strikeouts are also up to a 30.6% rate, a big jump from last year’s 23.3% clip. He’s slashing .223/.348/.378 on the year overall, production which translates to a 94 wRC+.

Even with the bat seeming to take a bit of a step back, Dunn could still be useful with his speed and defense. He’s swiped another nine bags already this year without being caught. The Reds have a regular outfield rotation consisting of left-handed hitters TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Jacob Hurtubise and Will Benson, as well as the right-handed hitting Stuart Fairchild.

Since Dunn is also a righty, perhaps he will take some playing time in the short side of a platoon and shield some of those lefty swingers from tough southpaws, while also doing some pinch running and taking some late-game defensive replacement duties. He’s hitting .250/.298/.558 against lefties so far this year, compared to just .208/.372/.281 without the platoon advantage. Dunn will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Mike Ford Elects Free Agency

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First baseman Mike Ford will elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment with the Reds, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer on X. Ford was designated for assignment earlier this week but evidently passed through waivers unclaimed.

The 31-year-old is capable of being a potent slugger but has struggled with consistency, both this year and in his career. He has had an on-and-off relationship with the Reds this year, having signed two minor league deals that both ended in him opting out, as well as a major league deal that followed.

Around those transactions, he put up a massive .455/.486/.727 line in Spring Training and hit .297/.381/.538 in Triple-A. Unfortunately, once in the big leagues, his production fell to .150/.177/.233 in 62 plate appearances. A tiny .182 batting average on balls in play surely weighed that line down, but the Reds cut him from the roster regardless.

Ford has struggled in the big leagues before but had his best showing in the majors just last year. He got into 84 games with the Mariners and hit 16 home runs. His 32.3% strikeout rate was on the high side but he drew walks at a solid 9.6% rate and slashed .228/.323/.475 for a 123 wRC+.

Despite that impressive performance, the M’s non-tendered Ford, which led to his transactions dance with the Reds this year. His most recent big league showing wasn’t great but, as mentioned, a lot of that appears to have been BABIP-based. He was great in the bigs last year and also looked great this year in Spring Training and at Triple-A.

He’ll now take some time to suss out opportunities but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him and the Reds reconnect in a few days, as they’ve already done a handful of times so far this year.

Reds Outright Brett Kennedy

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The Reds have sent right-hander Brett Kennedy outright to Triple-A Louisville, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Cincinnati designated him for assignment on Tuesday when they reinstated Alex Young from the 60-day injured list.

Kennedy only spent a few days on the 40-man roster and didn’t get into an MLB game. He made five appearances for the Reds a year ago, allowing 13 runs over 18 innings. Cincinnati outrighted him off their roster at season’s end but brought him back on a minor league deal during the winter. He has spent the bulk of the year working from the Louisville rotation. The 29-year-old has tossed 40 2/3 innings over eight starts, struggling to a 6.86 ERA in an offensive Triple-A setting.

While Kennedy has never missed many bats, he’s not afraid to attack the zone. He has walked fewer than 5% of opposing hitters this year and has a 7.9% walk percentage over parts of five Triple-A campaigns. The Reds have kept him around as a strike-throwing depth option who can make a spot start or work in long relief. Kennedy has the right to elect free agency because he has been outrighted a few times in his career, but it seems likely he’ll head back to Louisville in hopes of getting another MLB look during the year.

Reds Designate Mike Ford For Assignment

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The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated outfielder TJ Friedl from the injured list and opened a spot on the roster by designating first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford for assignment.

Ford, 31, signed a pair of minor league deals with the Reds and opted out both times, only to eventually return on a big league deal earlier this month. The lefty slugger demolished spring training opposition at a .455/.486/.727 pace and hit .297/.381/.538 through 105 Triple-A plate appearances to begin the season. That eye-popping production didn’t carry over into the big leagues, however. In 62 plate appearances for Cincinnati, Ford hit .150/.177/.233 with a homer and a triple.

Ford’s 24.2% strikeout rate with the Reds is only a bit higher than average, but he’s hit too many grounders (44.4%) for a lumbering slugger and is making hard contact well below both his career norms and the league-average levels. He’s averaged 86.4 mph off the bat and put just one-third of his batted balls in play at 95 mph or greater.

While Ford has struggled considerably in his small sample of playing in Cincinnati, he’s just months removed from providing the 2023 Mariners with plenty of thump in the season’s second half. Ford tallied 251 plate appearances in Seattle last season, and although his 32.3% strikeout rate was an eyesore, it was an acceptable trade-off for his .228/.323/.475 batting line and 16 round-trippers in his 84 games with the club.

With a career .205/.298/.402 batting line, Ford is something of a prototypical three-true-outcomes player. He’s walked at a 10% clip, fanned in 26% of his career plate appearances and also homered in just shy of 5% of his MLB plate appearances. He has clear power and some plate discipline but at times gets too passive in the box. Ford’s contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is right in line with the big league average, and he’s only slightly below-average when swinging at balls off the plate. However, he’s swung at just 39.9% of the pitches he’s seen in his career, which checks in quite a bit shy of the league average (which typically clocks in around 47% in any given season).

The Reds will have a week to trade Ford, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If Ford passes through outright waivers unclaimed, he’ll be able to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

Reds Designate Brett Kennedy For Assignment

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The Reds announced today that they have activated left-hander Alex Young from the 60-day injured list, with right-hander Brett Kennedy designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Kennedy, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He was just selected to the roster last week but he didn’t get into a game in the interim. The club likely wanted Kennedy around in case someone was needed to throw multiple innings of long relief. But in four of the past five games, Cincinnati starters threw at least 5 1/3 innings. The one exception was Nick Martinez, who tossed 4 1/3 behind opener Brent Suter while Carson Spiers pitched another 3 1/3 in relief.

Prior to having his contract selected, Kennedy made eight Triple-A starts with a 6.86 earned run average in 40 2/3 innings. His 18.9% strikeout rate in that span was a bit below average but he limited walks to just a 4.7% clip.

The Reds will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He has a previous career outright, meaning he would have the right to reject another such assignment in favor of electing free agency. His major league experience consists of 26 2/3 innings with the 2018 Padres and another 18 frames with the 2023 Reds. In the 44 2/3 combined innings, he has a 6.65 ERA, 12.8% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

Young, 30, started the year on the IL due to a back issue. He had a solid season in Cincinnati last year, posting a 3.86 ERA over 63 appearances. He struck out 21.2% of batters faced, gave out walks at an 8.5% clip and got grounders on 48.8% of balls in play. That included some leverage work, as he picked up one save and 13 holds. He’ll give the club a third lefty in the bullpen alongside Suter and Sam Moll.

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