- It was always expected to be a difficult season for the Reds, but the organization has dealt with more injuries than might’ve been hoped. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer provides updates on several situations. Righty Michael Lorenzen is just now returning to the hill after experiencing elbow issues this spring and then suffering a bout with mono. Fellow pitchers Anthony DeSclafani, Raisel Iglesias, and Jon Moscot are all making progress with their own injury matters, but certainly that’s not a list of arms that the club hoped to see on the DL at this stage of the year. DeSclafani, like Lorenzen, has yet to appear in the majors this season.
Reds Rumors
Devin Mesoraco Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
MAY 10: Surgery revealed more significant damage than had been anticipated, manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Expectations now are that Mesoraco will require a six-month recovery timeline.
MAY 6, 2:54pm: Mesoraco says he expects to be out for a minimum of four months, which essentially means he’l be down for the rest of the year, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter.
2:36pm: The Reds announced this afternoon that catcher Devin Mesoraco, who was placed on the DL earlier this week, will undergo surgery next Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder (Twitter link). While Cincinnati did not give a definitive timeline for Mesoraco’s recovery, there would seem to be a chance that the injury ends up costing him the remainder of the season. Pablo Sandoval, for instance, underwent the same procedure just last week and has been announced as out for the duration of the season.
This marks the second consecutive season in which Mesoraco will lose most of the year to an injury that ultimately requires surgery. Last year it was a balky hip that ultimately needed surgical repair. The Reds briefly experimented with using Mesoraco in the outfield before conceding to the surgery, but that didn’t last long, and he was ultimately limited 23 games and 51 plate appearances. The 2016 campaign will be even more brief for Mesoraco, who has appeared in just 16 contests this season and collected just 43 plate appearances.
Suffice it to say, this isn’t what the Reds had in mind when signing Mesoraco to a four-year, $28MM contract on the heels of a 2014 breakout, though there weren’t any signs that he’d suffer through a breakdown of this magnitude. Mesoraco hit .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs in that breakout ’14 season, and as a former first-round pick and widely regarded Top 100 prospect in his age-26 season, it seemed like he’d finally tapped into the potential scouts always saw in him. Now, he’ll hope to once again work his way back to health and give the Reds a healthy, productive season in 2017. Mesoraco earned $2.4MM last season and is earning $4.9MM in 2016. He’ll take home another $7.2MM next season and $13MM in 2018 before hitting the open market as a free agent.
Dodgers Acquire Pin-Chieh Chen From Reds
- One more from Eddy, who adds that the Reds traded outfielder Pin-Chieh Chen to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The 24-year-old Chen, signed by the Cubs as a free agent out of Taiwan prior to the 2010 season, has climbed as high as Double-A in the minors, spending parts of four seasons at that level and compiling a .236/.344/.327 batting line there. Baseball America rated him as Chicago’s No. 31 prospect prior to the 2012 season but didn’t rise higher than that on their prospect rankings.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/8/16
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around the majors:
- The Padres announced that they have placed second baseman Jemile Weeks on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring strain and recalled Jose Pirela. Prior to suffering the injury Saturday, Weeks collected 57 PAs and hit just .140/.204/.200. Pirela, also a second baseman, has slashed .306/.352/.447 at the Triple-A level in 2016. He was with the Padres earlier this season and appeared in four games, racking up five PAs and a double.
- Catcher Adam Moore, whom the Indians designated for assignment earlier this week, will stay in the organization after accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus, tweets Tribeinsider.
- The Astros reinstated catcher Max Stassi from the DL and optioned him to Triple-A Fresno, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report (Twitter link). Prior to undergoing surgery on the hamate bone in his left wrist in mid-March, Stassi was expected to team with Jason Castro to form the Astros’ catching tandem. The club is now preparing Evan Gattis for a role behind the plate, however, lessening the need for Stassi – whom Baseball America ranked as Houston’s 19th-best prospect entering the season.
- The Cubs have activated right-hander Neil Ramirez from the bereavement list and optioned righty Spencer Patton to Triple-A Iowa, the team announced. Ramirez has amassed six innings of three-run ball this year (seven strikeouts, four walks), while Patton made his sole big league appearance of the year Saturday and faced two batters – one of whom walked, the other of whom doubled.
- The Athletics have optioned right-hander Jesse Hahn to Triple-A Nashville and recalled righty J.B. Wendelken, per a team announcement. Hahn threw 17 2/3 innings in the minors this year before the A’s recalled him at the end of last month. He made two starts with Oakland, allowing four earned runs in 12 innings while walking six and striking out four. Hahn had a rough start Saturday, surrendering eight hits, four earned runs and four walks in 5 1/3 innings of work in a loss to Baltimore. Wendelken, 23, is now in position to make his major league debut after racking up 315 2/3 innings in the minors, where he has posted a 4.08 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
- The Reds announced that they have sent outfielder Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville and recalled outfielder/first baseman Kyle Waldrop. Schebler’s demotion is the result of the Reds wanting to give him playing time, which he hadn’t been receiving enough of in the majors lately because of the success of left fielder Adam Duvall. Schebler hit just .188/.246/.344 with a home run in 69 plate appearances prior to his demotion. Waldrop, not to be confused with the former major league reliever of the same name, has hit .276/.322/.437 in 2,445 career minor league PAs. The 24-year-old got his first taste of big league action last season, though he accrued only one at-bat.
Reds Option J.J. Hoover To Minors, Promote Steve Delabar
The Reds have announced a variety of roster moves, among them the demotion of righty J.J. Hoover, who started the season as their closer, to Triple-A Louisville. They also recalled righty Drew Hayes from Louisville, selected the contract of veteran righty Steve Delabar, placed righty Jon Moscot (shoulder) on the 15-day DL, and transferred catcher Devin Mesoraco (shoulder) to the 60-day DL.
Hoover had a disastrous beginning to his season, allowing 18 runs (17 earned), six home runs and six walks in 10 2/3 innings. He was expected to work the ninth inning for a Reds team that traded Aroldis Chapman over the winter, but that arrangement did not work out, to put it mildly.
The rest of the Reds’ moves reflect the considerable uncertainty that surrounds the rest of the team’s pitching staff as well. Perhaps the most notable move is the promotion of Delabar, who agreed to a minor-league deal with the Reds late in Spring Training after the Blue Jays released him. Delabar had posted a 2.19 ERA for Louisville, but with an alarming 11 walks in 12 1/3 innings. The 2013 All-Star has fallen on hard times in recent seasons, and posted a 5.22 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 29 2/3 innings with the Jays last year. The Reds bullpen’s 6.28 ERA for the season is by far the worst in the Majors, however, so they have little to lose in giving Delabar a shot.
Moscot missed a start with shoulder discomfort earlier this week, although, via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter), an MRI showed no structural damage. Mesoraco is set to have shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
Reds Purchase Rafael Perez's Contract From Indy League
- The Reds have purchased the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from the Bridgeport Bluefish, the indy league club announced. He’ll head to Triple-A Louisville, providing another depth option for an organization that is filling in for injured MLB starter Devin Mesoraco. Lopez, 28, has only appeared briefly at the major league level. He spent last season at Triple-A in the Cubs and Angels systems, slashing .266/.339/.335 over 246 plate appearances.
Devin Mesoraco To DL With Torn Labrum In Left Shoulder
10:22pm: Mesoraco says he’s “going to definitely have to get surgery at some point,” as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. But he’s still considering whether to try playing through the injury.
5:40pm: The Reds announced today that catcher Devin Mesoraco has suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He’ll go on the 15-day DL for now. It certainly seems likely that he’ll require an extended absence, though it remains to be seen whether surgery will be required.
This injury constitutes the latest setback for the 27-year-old, who missed most of last season after undergoing hip surgery. Mesoraco signed a four-year, $28MM extension before the 2015 season, with the club buying out all of his arbitration eligibility and buying up one free agent-eligible campaign.
That deal came together after Mesoraco’s breakout 2014, in which he slashed .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs in 440 plate appearances. It’s been mostly downhill from there, as the former top prospect has struggled at the plate while battling his various ailments. In just 106 plate appearances since the start of 2015, he’s carrying a .158/.245/.200 batting line without a single long ball.
Reds Sign Kyle Parker
- The Reds have signed former Rockies first-rounder Kyle Parker to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Parker, 26, logged 112 plate appearances with the Rox last season but batted just .179/.223/.311 with three homers. The first baseman/outfielder does have solid .285/.332/.442 line in parts of two minor league seasons, and he’ll give the Reds some additional depth at what is currently a somewhat uncertain position.
Joey Votto Would Rather Retire Than Perform Poorly
Superstar Reds first baseman Joey Votto has hit a surprisingly poor .233/.333/.314 in 102 plate appearances this year while walking less than usual and striking out at a rate higher than normal. Votto, who’s making $20MM this season and is owed up to $192MM from 2017-2024, is embarrassed by his early season performance and told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he’d rather retire and forfeit the money than stick around and fail to produce. “I’m here to play and be part of setting a standard. It’s something I’ve always taken pride in,” he said. “I love to play at a really high level. So far this year, it’s not been that. I will not be a very satisfied, happy person if I don’t perform at the level that I expect.” The 32-year-old Votto, a career .309/.421/.529 hitter, is coming off a 7.4-fWAR season, so he seems like a prime candidate to return to form as 2016 progresses. “I signed up for a high-level of performance. I didn’t sign up for this just to make money,” he added.
Reds Place Raisel Iglesias On DL With Shoulder Impingement
The Reds have placed right-hander Raisel Iglesias on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Tuesday with an impingement in his throwing shoulder, per a club announcement. They’ve also transferred catcher Kyle Skipworth to the 60-day DL with an ankle injury.
Iglesias was scheduled to start for the Reds in Pittsburgh today, but he felt a “pinch” in his shoulder Friday and underwent an examination Saturday that led to his placement on the DL. This isn’t the first time Iglesias’ shoulder has acted up, which is obviously alarming, as the 26-year-old dealt with fatigue last season and began his throwing program later in the spring as a result. Iglesias followed that spring program with a stellar first month of the season, throwing 28 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball (9.21 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9) in five starts. He was easily the brightest spot in a Reds rotation that concluded April with the majors’ seventh-worst ERA (4.84) and second-worst FIP (5.61).
With Iglesias out of the picture for a to-be-determined amount of time, Tim Adleman will take the mound for the Reds in his big league debut today. The 28-year-old owns a 3.79 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 410 1/3 career minor league innings.
