Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Reds Rumors

Reds Promote Riley O’Brien

By | at

TODAY: The Reds officially promoted O’Brien, and left-handed Cionel Perez was optioned to Triple-A.

SEPTEMBER 27: The Reds are planning to recall Riley O’Brien to start tomorrow evening’s game against the White Sox, manager David Bell told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic). It’ll be the right-hander’s major league debut. O’Brien was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft, so no corresponding move will be needed in that regard.

O’Brien was originally selected by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2017 draft out of the College of Idaho. He worked his way up to Double-A Montgomery over the next few years before being sent to the Reds last summer for lefty reliever Cody Reed. O’Brien spent the rest of the 2020 campaign at Cincinnati’s alternate training site.

Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs slotted the 25-year-old in the back half of the Reds’ top thirty prospects last offseason. Public evaluators generally suggest O’Brien’s likely to settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter or multi-inning relief option in the relatively near future. The 6’4″ hurler draws praise for his low-mid 90s fastball and athleticism, but his command and the quality of his secondary offerings has been less consistent.

That’s been borne out in O’Brien’s first crack at Triple-A this season. Over 112 2/3 frames with Louisville, he’s worked to a 4.55 ERA with a solid 24.7% strikeout rate but an elevated 11.2% walk percentage. While the Reds clinched their second consecutive above-average season this afternoon, they won’t make it to the playoffs. They’ll get a look at O’Brien for a start or two in the season’s final week, and he figures to be in the mix for some sort of role on next year’s season-opening staff.

Reds Designate Beau Taylor For Assignment

By | at

The Reds announced Monday morning that catcher Beau Taylor has been designated for assignment in order to open a roster spot for lefty Reiver Sanmartin, whom they’d already announced as today’s expected starter. Cincinnati also placed righty Luis Castillo on the family medical emergency list.

Taylor, 31, was claimed off waivers out of the Indians organization back in April and has spent the season with Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate in Louisville. He’s appeared in 75 games for the Bats, tallying 234 plate appearances with a .232/.339/.333 batting line and four home runs. He didn’t get a call to the big leagues with the Reds and has just 60 Major League plate appearances under his belt in total, which he’s split between the A’s, Jays and Indians.

Taylor hasn’t hit much in his limited MLB time, but he’s been posted a solid line in parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where a huge 14.5 percent walk rate has helped him to a .251/.366/.373 in 1032 plate appearances. Defensively, he’s drawn average or better marks both in pitch-framing and pitch-blocking in the upper minors, per Baseball Prospectus. He’s also thrown out 29 percent of would-be base thieves throughout 10 professional seasons.

Solid defensive skills and a knack for drawing walks and getting on base could give Taylor some appeal on the waiver wire for clubs hoping to add some catching depth this offseason. If he does go unclaimed, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s previously been outrighted in his career (with the A’s in 2018).

Reds To Promote Reiver Sanmartin For Monday Start

By | at

The Reds announced that left-handed pitching prospect Reiver Sanmartin’s contract will be selected tomorrow, so the 25-year-old can start Cincinnati’s game against the Pirates.  A corresponding move is forthcoming to open a 40-man roster spot.

Sanmartin will make his MLB debut following a minor league season that saw the lefty post a 3.32 ERA over 100 1/3 combined innings for the Reds’ top two farm affiliates (18 IP at Double-A, 82 1/3 IP at Triple-A).  Starting 17 of 25 appearances, Sanmartin had a strong 27.4% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.

Sanmartin has consistently done a good job of limiting walks over his pro career, though his strikeouts have been on the rise over his two seasons in the Reds’ farm system (sandwiched around the lost 2020 minor league season).  The increase in missed bats hasn’t come at the expense of Sanmartin’s quality groundball rates, as he has continued to generate grounders well over half the time.

For all of the positives of Sanmartin’s 2021 season, he also had a rather ignominious distinction as the first player in either the minor or major leagues to be suspended for use of an illegal substance after MLB’s “sticky stuff” crackdown in June.  Sanmartin was suspended for 10 games after umpires found a foreign substance under the brim of his cap while conducting a post-inning check.

Neither MLB Pipeline or Baseball America rank Sanmartin among the Reds’ top 30 prospects, but he will nonetheless get his first taste of The Show as the replacement for the injured Wade Miley, who was originally slated to start Monday.  Sanmartin was originally signed by the Rangers as an international free agent in 2015, and he and Sonny Gray came to the Reds from the Yankees as part of a notable three-team swap (also involving the Mariners) in January 2019.

Reds Place Wade Miley On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Reds placed left-hander Wade Miley on the 10-day injured list due to a neck strain, with the placement retroactive to September 22.  Southpaw Cionel Perez was called up from Triple-A to take Miley’s spot on the active roster.

Though the timing works out for Miley to make one more start before the season is over, it seems possible that the veteran lefty has thrown his last pitch of the 2021 season.  The Reds will need at least one replacement for Miley’s rotation spot in the short term, as Miley had been scheduled to start Monday’s game against the Pirates.

Miley has an 8.35 ERA over four starts and 18 1/3 innings in September, putting a sour finish on what has otherwise been a very solid season for the 34-year-old.  Miley has 3.37 ERA over 163 frames for Cincinnati, with a 49.4% grounder rate and an above-average walk rate to go along with a lot of soft contact.  Never a big strikeout pitcher, Miley has only an 18.1% strikeout rate this year, just about matching his career average.

After signing a two-year, $15MM free agent deal back in December 2019, Miley barely pitched in his first year with the Reds, as shoulder and groin injuries limited him to 14 1/3 innings in 2020.  This season’s nice bounce-back effort will now greatly increase the chances of Miley remaining in Cincinnati next year, as the Reds hold a $10MM club option ($1MM) buyout on Miley’s services for the 2022 campaign.

Tyler Naquin Expected To Miss Rest Of Regular Season

By | at

Outfielder Tyler Naquin is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, Reds manager David Bell tells Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

This news is most unwelcome for the Reds, as Naquin has been a pleasant surprise for them this year. After being non-tendered by Cleveland in December, he latched on with the Reds on a minor league deal in February and then had a great spring, vaulting himself onto the Opening Day roster. Since then, he has gotten into 127 games for the Reds, hitting .270/.333/.477, good enough for a wRC+ of 111. Despite subpar defense, he’s still been worth 1.4 wins above replacement on the season, according to FanGraphs. Unfortunately, on September 11th, Naquin and teammate Jose Barrero collided while attempting to trying to catch a fly ball. Naquin came out of that game with bruised ribs and was eventually placed on the IL a few days later.

If Cincinnati were to go on a lengthy playoff run, Naquin’s chances of returning would surely improve, though that seems very unlikely at this point. The club has gone on an ill-timed slide here in September, with a record of 7-13 in the month so far. When combined with the incredible 12-game win streak of the Cardinals, the Reds are now 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with just over a week remaining in the season.

Longer term, the team will now have to decide whether to tender Naquin a contract for 2022. He will finish this season with just over five years’ service time and can be controlled for one more season via arbitration. Naquin played the 2020 season on a prorated $1.45MM salary and was let go by a Cleveland team that didn’t think he was worth an arbitration raise. Now Cincinnati is in a similar position, paying him $1.5MM for this year. However, Naquin was coming off a disastrous campaign in the shortened 2020 season, hitting .218/.248/.383, a wRC+ of 65.

The Reds are likely to see Nick Castellanos opt out of the last two years of his contract and return to free agency. That would leave Jesse Winker as the only lock for next year’s outfield, along with unproven options such as TJ Friedl, Max Schrock, Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino. Keeping Naquin around for another season and giving him a modest arbitration raise could be a good way to provide the club some extra cover as they navigate the offseason outfield market.

Reds Extend Manager David Bell Through 2023

By | at

The Reds and manager David Bell have agreed on a contract extension that runs through the end of the 2023 season, Bell himself told reporters (including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Bell anticipates his entire coaching staff will return next season as well.

Bell has led the Cincinnati dugout for the past three seasons, with the team posting a cumulative 184-190 record (.492 winning percentage). Before landing his first managerial gig, he’d worked in a few different capacities, serving on Mike Matheny’s coaching staff with the Cardinals for five years before spending a season as the Giants’ vice president of player development.

The Reds hired Bell in October 2018, signing him to a three-year guarantee. That deal contained a club option for the 2022 season. Rather than exercise the option and potentially enter next season with Bell in a lame duck capacity, Cincinnati struck early to guarantee Bell’s position for another two years. It’s not clear whether his new deal also contains options beyond 2023.

At the time of Bell’s initial hiring, the Reds were still amidst a multi-year rebuild. They’d posted below-average records in each of the five prior seasons, finishing last in the NL Central every year from 2015-18. The club dismissed skipper Bryan Price early in 2018, with Jim Riggleman taking the reigns on an interim capacity for the remainder of the year.

The team made some progress in Bell’s first year at the helm. After winning between 64 and 68 games in each of the prior four seasons, the Reds went 75-87 in 2019, surpassing the Pirates to get out of the basement of the division. They flipped the switch completely into win-now mode late in the year, acquiring Trevor Bauer at the trade deadline with an eye towards 2020 and pushing payroll to a franchise-record height that winter. The front office signed Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos to matching $64MM guarantees and also added Shogo Akiyama and Wade Miley on multi-year deals.

The organization clearly envisioned 2020 as the opening of a new competitive window. Obviously, the pandemic-necessitated shortened season threw a wrench in those plans, but the Reds did at least finish 31-29 last year to earn a spot in the expanded playoff. That snapped a six-year postseason drought, but Cincinnati was quickly dispatched by the Braves in the Wild Card round. The club then had a relatively inactive offseason, entering this year with a significant question mark at shortstop and some concerns about the relief corps.

Those issues impacted the club’s early-season play, particularly as Eugenio Suárez struggled badly in an attempt to move from third base to shortstop. Cincinnati hovered right around .500 through the season’s first half before catching fire coming out of the All-Star Break. Not too long ago, they looked as likely as anyone to claim the NL’s second Wild Card spot, but the club has stumbled to a 7-12 record in September. Coupled with the Cardinals’ recent surge, Cincinnati now sits four games back of St. Louis for the final playoff spot. According to FanGraphs, their postseason odds are down to 5.9%.

Missing the playoffs would certainly be a disappointing outcome for a Cincinnati club that expected to contend this season. GM Nick Krall and the front office nevertheless believe in Bell’s ability to lead the club back to the playoffs over the coming years. Despite their up-and-down play this season, the Reds have seen homegrown, controllable players like Jesse Winker, Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson emerge as above-average regulars during Bell’s tenure. That trio will work with the resurgent Joey Votto and a talented pitching staff led by Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle to form what the club hopes to be a competitive core in 2022 and beyond.

Reds Select Dauri Moreta, Place Mike Moustakas On Injured List

By | at

The Reds announced they’ve selected reliever Dauri Moreta to the big league roster. (Héctor Gómez of Z 101 previously reported Moreta’s impending call-up). Infielder Mike Moustakas has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 21, due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. To clear space on the 40-man roster for Moreta, Cincinnati designated R.J. Alaniz for assignment.

Moreta is up for his first call after spending six years in the minors. He signed with the Reds as a 19-year-old (three years older than most international amateur prospects) during the 2015-16 signing period. Moreta has worked exclusively out of the bullpen since signing, and immediately racked up huge strikeout totals. He partially offset that massive swing-and-miss stuff by issuing too many free passes early in his career, but Moreta has made significant strides as a strike-thrower in recent years.

In High-A in 2019, Moreta walked only 4.1% of opponents. That was half his walk percentage from Low-A the season prior and nowhere near the untenable control issues he’d shown in rookie ball. Moreta has retained that improved command even after the lost minor league campaign in 2020. He’s split this year between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, combining for a 1.02 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout percentage and just a 4.5% walk rate. Moreta’s strikeout tally fell precipitously after he made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A, but he’s continued to post highly effective bottom line results against top minor league hitters.

Adding Moreta to the bullpen mix bumps Alaniz from the roster. Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, the 30-year-old was promoted to the majors in mid-July. He’s worked just 2 2/3 big league innings this season, bringing his career total to 18 1/3. Alaniz has an 8.35 ERA at the big league level with worse than average peripherals.

While he’s yet to find big league success, the right-hander has had a nice season with Louisville. Across 39 frames of relief with the Bats, Alaniz owns a 3.46 ERA with a solid 26.9% strikeout rate and an average 10.2% walk percentage. Alaniz has previously been outrighted in his career, so he’d have the right to elect free agency and explore opportunities elsewhere if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Moustakas winds up back on the injured list with a right foot issue for the second time this season. In mid-May, he was placed on the IL due to a heel contusion. He suffered a setback during a minor league rehab appearance and wound up missing more than two months.

With just a week and a half left in the regular season, it’s possible this latest injury ends Moustakas’ season. The Reds have fallen four games behind the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card race, making them increasingly unlikely to reach the playoffs. Moustakas is hitting a career-worst .208/.282/.372, including a .177/.225/.313 line since he returned from the injured list. He’s guaranteed $38MM over the next two years (including a buyout on a 2024 club option). With Jonathan India having locked down second base, Moustakas and Eugenio Suárez — who’s having a very poor season himself — could be in line to split time at the hot corner moving forward.

Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson From Injured List

By | at

SEPTEMBER 22: Cincinnati activated Stephenson from the injured list before this afternoon’s game against the Pirates. That indicates he did not test positive for the coronavirus. Kolozsvary was optioned back to Louisville to clear active roster space but will retain his spot on the 40-man roster. To open 40-man space for Stephenson, the Reds transferred Tejay Antone from the 10-day to the 60-day IL. Antone underwent Tommy John surgery last month.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Reds announced they’ve selected catcher Mark Kolozsvary to the big league club. Fellow backstop Tyler Stephenson has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Players on the COVID IL don’t count against the 40-man roster, so no additional moves were necessary.

A five-year minor league veteran, Kolozsvary is now in line for his first MLB opportunity. Selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Florida, he struggled offensively early in his pro career but was off to his best start this season. Koloszvary hit .233/.341/.438 over 170 plate appearances with Double-A Chattanooga, popping six home runs and drawing walks at a strong 11.8% clip. The right-handed hitter fanned in 31.2% of his trips to the plate there, but he flashed enough power and patience to make a decent offensive impact.

Kolozsvary took a hiatus from his time in the Reds’ system to join the U.S. National Team at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Somewhat ironically, he’s the second member of that team to get called up today, as the Indians are set to bring up outfielder-turned-reliever Anthony Gose as well. Kolozsvary went 4-21 in a brief look in international competition before returning to the Reds.

Cincinnati bumped Kolozsvary up to Triple-A Louisville last month. He hasn’t performed well in his first 53 plate appearances there, but will nevertheless get a chance to back up Tucker Barnhart while Stephenson’s unavailable. He gets that nod over Beau Taylor, a three-year big league veteran also at Louisville who’s already on the 40-man roster. Because Kolozsvary’s coming up to replace a player on the COVID IL, he can be removed from the 40-man and returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers. It could be a relatively short first stint then, but Kolozsvary would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if he’s not on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster at that point.

It’s not clear whether Stephenson’s on the IL for a positive test or if he’s simply a close contact or feeling virus-like symptoms. One of the game’s most promising young backstops, Stephenson came up very briefly last season but has gotten his first extended big league look in 2021. He’s off to a strong start, hitting .279/.368/.420 with nine home runs over 368 plate appearances (109 wRC+). Cincinnati has fallen three games back of the division-rival Cardinals in the race for the National League’s last playoff spot, and an extended absence from Stephenson would obviously make their hopes of tracking St. Louis down over the season’s final two weeks that much more difficult.

Reds Place Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

Just a day after returning from the 10-day injured list, Jesse Winker is heading back to the IL due to the same intercostal strain that sidelined him for over a month.  The Reds announced that both Winker and fellow outfielder Shogo Akiyama have been placed on the 10-day IL, with Akiyama suffering from a right hamstring strain.  The two open roster spots will be filled by outfielder TJ Friedl (whose contract was selected from Triple-A), and right-hander Art Warren, who was activated from the 60-day IL.

Winker was hit by a Brusdar Graterol pitch in the eighth inning of last night’s 3-1 win over the Dodgers, and had to be removed from the game for a pinch-runner.  Reds manager David Bell indicated that the swing prior to the HBP may have been the cause of Winker’s re-aggravation, but whatever the cause, Winker will now again miss time given this crucial stretch of the Reds’ season.

Given the timing, it is certainly possible that Winker might not play again in 2021.  He’ll miss at least the next 10 days, and even if he is able to return after this second intercostal issue, the Reds might not want to risk further injury if the team is already out of the playoff race.  This is technically the third time that Winker has been sidelined with this intercostal injury, as he missed a few games prior to his first IL stint in an attempt to solve the problem through some rest, before again being hampered when returning to action.

It’s a terrible break for both Winker and the Reds, as Winker’s bat is a major reason why Cincinnati is even in the postseason race.  Winker has 24 home runs and a .305/.394/.556 slash line over 485 plate appearances, with a 151 wRC+ that ranks fifth among all players with at least 450 PA.

Winker and Akiyama join Tyler Naquin (bruised ribs) on the IL, leaving the Reds suddenly thin in the outfield.  Aristides Aquino and Max Schrock have been serving as a left field platoon in Winker’s absence, with Delino DeShields getting action along with Naquin and Akiyama in center field.  With Akiyama now out, it opens the door for Friedl to make his Major League debut as the Reds play some of their most important games of the season.

Friedl joined the Reds as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and he has worked his way through the system up to the Triple-A level this year, where he has batted .264/.357/.422 with 12 homers in 448 PA.  Baseball America ranked Friedl 22nd on their midseason list of the top 30 prospects in Cincinnati’s farm system.  Friedl has experience at all three outfield positions and has spent the bulk of his time in center, so he could essentially slide right into Akiyama’s spot as a left-handed hitting complement to DeShields.

Warren’s return might also be no small matter for a Reds bullpen that is eager for fresh arms.  Warren posted a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings before being placed on the injured list due to an oblique strain back on July 15.  The right-hander has posted some big strikeout numbers since the start of the 2018 minor league season, which earned him a brief look on the Mariners’ roster during the 2019 season.  The Rangers claimed Warren from the Mariners after last season, and Cincinnati then acquired Warren in a trade with Texas last January.

Reds, Kyle Boddy Part Ways

By | at

The Reds and pitching guru Kyle Boddy are ending their relationship after two seasons, per a press release from Boddy himself. Boddy and Driveline Baseball, his player development organization, surged into the public sphere not long ago as major disruptors in pitching innovation and date-driven development. The Reds’ hiring of Boddy as their minor league pitching coordinator suggested buy-in on Cincinnati’s side, as did their promotion of Boddy to Director of Pitching. That makes this split somewhat surprising, but the relationship clearly did not progress as planned.

What this means for the future of Reds’ development is unclear. Changing philosophies organization-wide can be a slow and clunky process, but it’s certainly possible that the Reds don’t plan to make wholesale changes. Still, moving on from such a public and outside-the-box hire suggests that the Reds will be moving in a different direction in terms of their minor league development strategy. Elsewhere around the game…

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