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Reds Release Desmond Jennings

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The Reds have released veteran outfielder Desmond Jennings, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. It was already clear that Jennings wouldn’t head north with the MLB club.

Jennings, 30, had signed a minors deal that would have paid him $1.5MM had he cracked the roster. But he didn’t do enough in the Cactus League to induce the team to clear a 40-man spot to keep him. Jennings hit .195/.300/.415 with two home runs and two steals in his 18 games of action.

Once a solid regular with the Rays, Jennings has battled injuries over the past two seasons and hasn’t been effective when he has been able to take the field. From 2011 through 2014, though, he slashed .249/.327/.402, hit 47 homers, and swiped 86 bags while playing a solid center field in Tampa Bay.

NL Central Notes: Reds, Wong, Hutchison, Szczur

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In an appearance on the podcast hosted by C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams shared some interesting thoughts on his team and possible areas for innovation. (You can find a writeup of Williams’ comments and a link to the podcast right here.) Williams spoke in particular about the notion of “breaking down the barriers between roles,” both for pitchers and position players. Especially for a small-market team, he said, it’s necessary to question traditional thinking. While it’s hardly clear that the Reds will be tinkering just for the sake of experimentation — Williams says that creative approaches will be attempted “in the context of the talent we have coming” — he did note that it’s intriguing to imagine the possibility of a staff made up mostly of multi-inning pitchers who aren’t strictly classified as starters or relievers. It’s a fun and worthwhile listen.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak expressed some displeasure with recent comments from second baseman Kolten Wong, as ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon writes. Wong had stated rather forcefully that he was uninterested in sharing time at second — a possibility that has been discussed (externally, at least) due both to his continued struggles at the plate this spring and the presence of Jedd Gyorko. Though Wong softened his initial statement, making clear he wants to remain in St. Louis, Mozeliak said he felt the “comments were a little tough given the fact we have other players playing well.” The veteran executive took a measured tone, but made clear where the organization stands. “Starting Sunday, we’re playing to win,” he said. “Whenever a player is trying to accomplish something in spring training, that can’t be an excuse for why things aren’t going well.”
  • Righty Drew Hutchison was officially removed from the battle for the Pirates’ final rotation spot, with the team announcing that he has been optioned to Triple-A. That leaves righties Trevor Williams and Tyler Glasnow fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Both reached the majors last year after strong showings in the upper minors, though neither established himself at the game’s highest level. The young hurlers have each staked their claim in differing ways this spring, with Williams posting a 2.63 ERA with a dozen strikeouts against just two walks over 13 2/3 frames and Glasnow racking up 23 Ks — but also allowing nine runs on 19 hits and six free passes — over his 14 1/3 innings.
  • The Cubs have made their final Opening Day roster decisions, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Outfielder Matt Szczur and infielder Tommy La Stella are both slated for reserve roles. Szczur, who’s out of options, had been mentioned as a possible trade candidate had he ended up missing out on the Chicago roster. Meanwhile, lefty Brian Duensing will open the season on the DL after being slowed earlier in camp due to back spasms.

Reds Notes: Rotation, Jennings, Iglesias

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  • The Reds have officially tabbed Amir Garrett and Rookie Davis to start the year in their rotation, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Neither hurler has any major league experience to this point. The 24-year-old Garrett, Baseball America’s 81st-ranked prospect, ascended to Triple-A last season and put up a 3.46 ERA with 7.18 K/9 against 4.12 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings. Davis, 23, was part of the Aroldis Chapman trade between the Reds and Yankees in 2015. Like Garrett, he reached Triple-A in 2016, though his results over a small sample weren’t ideal (7.50 ERA, 5.63 K/9, 2.63 BB/9 in 24 innings). In 134 1/3 Double-A frames, Davis owns a 3.28 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • The Reds reassigned veteran outfielder Desmond Jennings to the minors on Tuesday, which could bring about the end of his short tenure with the organization. Jennings, who joined the Reds in February on a minor league contract, can opt out of his deal before Opening Day, and Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer expects that to happen (Twitter link).
  • Yet another note on the Reds, whose manager, Bryan Price, expects reliever Raisel Iglesias to be ready for Opening Day (Twitter link via Rosecrans). The righty hurt his elbow and hips when he fell in the shower a few weeks ago, thus putting his status for the start of the season in question. Undoubtedly the Reds’ premier relief weapon, Iglesias posted a 1.98 ERA, 9.72 K/9 and 3.42 BB/9 in 50 innings out of the bullpen after transitioning from the rotation a year ago.

D-Backs Claim Christian Walker, Designate Evan Marshall

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The Diamondbacks have claimed first baseman/outfielder Christian Walker off waivers from the Reds, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to tweet. The move opens a roster spot for the Reds’ addition of infielder Scooter Gennett. Arizona has designated reliever Evan Marshall to create roster space, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets.

It’s not the first time that Walker has changed hands over the offseason. He bounced previously from the Orioles to the Braves before moving to Cincinnati. Though he hasn’t seen much MLB time, Walker has hit fairly well at Triple-A. In what amounts to about two full seasons at the highest level of the minors, he owns a .260/.324/.429 slash with 42 home runs.

The trouble is, Walker hasn’t quite hit enough to push out an established big leaguer from a first base job. And he is new to the outfield, leaving it unclear just how he’ll fit on a National League roster. While Arizona had previously parted with a similarly hard-to-fit player in Peter O’Brien, the club now evidently felt there was roster space to spare.

As for Marshall, who’ll soon turn 27, the results have just not been there over the past two seasons. He turned in a high-quality 2014 season (2.74 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9) that seemingly made him a long-term piece. But while his velocity has largely stayed consistent, he tumbled to an 8.8% swinging-strike rate in 2016 and was hardly dominant during his time at Triple-A. In his 5 1/3 spring innings, Marshall had permitted only two earned runs, but did allow nine base hits while compiling three strikeouts to go with one free pass.

 

Reds Claim Scooter Gennett

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The Reds have claimed second baseman Scooter Gennett off waivers from the Brewers, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. It’s not yet clear what the corresponding 40-man roster move will be.

Gennett, 26, agreed to a $2.525MM contract over the winter to avoid arbitration; that’ll now be the responsibility of his new club. He comes with two more seasons of arb control and also remains optionable.

Milwaukee had utilized Gennett quite frequently over the preceding four seasons, during which he carried a .279/.318/.420 batting line over 1,637 plate appearances. That’s roughly league-average production, though the vast bulk of his time — and his productivity — came against right-handed pitching. Gennett has hit just .187/.237/.254 against southpaws, greatly reducing his function.

While it seems there’s still hope that Gennett can expand his repertoire by learning to move around the diamond, he evidently hadn’t done enough to convince Milwaukee to keep him on the 40-man roster. The club is set to turn over second base to Jonathan Villar, which left Gennett without an obvious role.

The path to playing time isn’t really much more clear in Cincinnati, where the starting jobs are all accounted for. But Gennett could spell righty-hitting infielders Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez while perhaps also appearing in the corner outfield at times. Plus, if the organization finds a taker for Zack Cozart, or an injury occurs, it’s possible that Gennett could end up receiving an expanded opportunity.

Reds Release Ryan Raburn

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The Reds have released outfielder Ryan Raburn, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes (Twitter links). As Buchanan previously noted, Raburn was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning that the team had until tomorrow to add him to their roster, and if they hadn’t, either offer him a $100K retention bonus or release him.

The Reds’ Opening Day roster seems likely to include a four-man bench. The team still has Desmond Jennings, Hernan Iribarren, Patrick Kivlehan and Tony Renda in camp competing for the bench spot Raburn might have occupied.

The Reds signed Raburn to a minor-league deal near the beginning of Spring Training. The 35-year-old was coming off a disappointing .220/.309/.404 season with the Rockies, although he batted .301/.393/.543 with Cleveland the previous season. He batted just .219 this spring, although he posted a .324 OBP and had a .500 slugging percentage and three home runs.

Bronson Arroyo On Pace To Make Reds' Rotation

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  • Barring anything unforeseen in the next week, it looks like Bronson Arroyo will make the Reds’ starting rotation, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes.  Arroyo is still scheduled for a minor league start on April 2 so he won’t officially break camp with the Reds, but the 40-year-old righty is on pace to return to the big leagues for the first time since June 15, 2014.  Arroyo has pitched in just two minor league games since that date due to Tommy John surgery and a torn tendon his rotator cuff.

Latest On Reds' Catchers

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  • Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will likely begin the season on the disabled list as he works his way back from the left shoulder and right hip surgeries he underwent last year, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Consequently, the team is “leaning toward” retaining fellow backstop Stuart Turner, whom it took from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Turner would join Tucker Barnhart to comprise the Reds’ top two catchers, and they’d try to pass the out-of-options Rob Brantly through waivers.

Reds Prospect Nick Hanson To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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  • Reds right-hander Nick Hanson, the club’s third-round pick in the 2016 draft, will undergo Tommy John surgery, as reported by SB Nation’s Eric Roseberry and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter links).  Hanson, a Minnesota high schooler, was slated to attend the University of Kentucky before agreeing to an above-slot $925K bonus to join the Reds.  The 2017 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked him as the 30th-best prospect in Cincy’s system, describing the 6’6″ 18-year-old as “understandably raw with a loose arm” but owning a fastball in the 91-95mph range and the potential for an above-average curveball.  Given the usual TJ recovery period, Hanson’s best-case scenario for a return is midway through the 2018 season.

Hernan Iribarren Plays Notable Role For Rebuilding Reds

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Hernan Iribarren has enjoyed a largely unremarkable major league career, but he still has an interesting personal tale to tell C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Once a reasonably notable prospect, Iribarren hasn’t quite yet appeared in fifty MLB games. And at 32 years of age, he’s unlikely to make a significant on-field impact for the Reds organization even if he does crack the MLB roster. Still, writes Rosecrans, Iribarren’s presence will continue to be felt, as he has provided invaluable mentoring to a variety of Cincinnati players — most notably, fellow Venezuelan infielders Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez.

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