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Reds Release Daniel Norris

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The Reds announced Monday that they’ve released left-handed reliever Daniel Norris, who’d been in camp on a minor league deal. Cincinnati also optioned outfielder Stuart Fairchild to Triple-A Louisville and reassigned righty Silvino Bracho and infielder/outfielder Alejo Lopez to minor league camp.

It’s been a tough spring for Norris, who’s appeared in seven games with the Reds but been tagged for six runs (five earned) in 6 2/3 innings of work. Opponents have collected a dozen hits against the veteran southpaw, and he’s shown some troubling command issues as well. Norris has walked seven of his 40 opponents and plunked another three.

The 29-year-old Norris was once regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, even headlining the Tigers’ return for David Price (alongside Matthew Boyd) when trading him to the Blue Jays at the 2015 trade deadline. He’s shown promise at varying points — 3.55 ERA in 129 1/3 frames with the Tigers from 205-16 — but Norris has also been slowed by injuries and a frightening battle with thyroid cancer, which he thankfully overcame.

Norris split the 2021-22 seasons between the Cubs, Tigers and Brewers but turned in a sub-par 5.68 ERA in 115 2/3 innings during that time. He was far more impressive with Detroit during the shortened 2020 season, logging a 3.25 ERA with a 24.1% strikeout rate and strong 6% walk rate in 27 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

Overall, Norris has a 4.71 ERA in 569 2/3 big league innings. He’s fanned just under a quarter of his opponents over the past three seasons — an improvement from his early-career levels — but those increased punchouts have came with an increase in walks as well. Norris walked hitters at an 8.6% clip through 2019 but has issued free passes at a 10.7% rate over the past three years. He’ll look for opportunities elsewhere, and while teams in need of a left-handed reliever could well have interest in him as a depth piece, he might have to take another minor league deal and pitch his way onto a big league roster with a strong showing in Triple-A.

As far as the Reds’ bullpen is concerned, Norris’ release could bode well for lefty Alex Young. The former D-backs and Giants hurler is also in camp on a non-roster deal, but he’s had a much stronger showing, allowing just two runs with a 9-to-2 K/BB ratio in eight innings. Either Young or waiver claim Bennett Sousa would give manager David Bell a second lefty alongside Reiver Sanmartin. Sousa is already on the 40-man roster.

Reds Outright Alejo López

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The Reds have outrighted infielder Alejo López after he cleared waivers, reports Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer, with López staying in camp as a non-roster invitee. He was designated for assignment last week when the club acquired outfielder Will Benson from the Guardians.

López, 27 in May, has appeared in each of the past two major league seasons but with little to show for it thus far. In 75 games, he’s hit .262/.307/.321 for a wRC+ of 70, indicating he’s been 30% below league average at the plate. He has at least provided some defensive versatility, spending time at second base, third base and all three outfield positions.

One of his best attributes is that he’s very difficult to strike out. He’s only gone down on strikes in 14.5% of his major league plate appearances thus far and usually at even lower rates in the minors. However, he also doesn’t walk much and provides little power, with only one big league home run in his career and never topping six in the minors.

Since he has never been outrighted before and has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment and will therefore stick with the Reds. He’ll try to earn his way back onto the roster at some point, with the club’s infield mix a little uncertain at the moment. Jonathan India should be at second base with Kevin Newman at short and Spencer Steer at third, with Jose Barrero perhaps in the mix for some playing time as well. López will be jockeying with other non-roster invitees like Richie Martin, Jason Vosler and Matt Reynolds, trying to earn a spot as a bench infielder or utility option.

Reds Place Jake Fraley, Jonathan India On Injured List

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1:05 pm: In yet another injury blow for the Reds, second baseman Jonathan India is going on the injured list due to an injury to his right hamstring. The move is retroactive to April 30. Alejo Lopez has been recalled to take his place.

Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, India has been off a bit of a slow start to the year, perhaps because of this hamstring issue, which first put him on the shelf April 16. His .295/.311/.341 line amounts to a wRC+ of 85, which is 37 points below last year’s mark. Matt Reynolds, playing second base today, could see more time with India out. Mike Moustakas could also play more third base, with Brandon Drury sliding over to the keystone.

Of course, Lopez could also figure into that mix, as he’s capable of both playing second and third base, as well as shortstop and left field. He’s off to a slow start in Triple-A this year, but hit .303/.386/.446 there last year, walking more than he struck out and putting up a 126 wRC+.

12:56 pm: The Reds announced to members of the media, including Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer, that outfielder Jake Fraley is headed to the injured list with right knee inflammation. Fellow outfielder TJ Friedl has been recalled to take his place.

This is yet another domino in what has been a very frustrating series of events for the fans of the Reds. In the offseason, a number of the club’s better players were shipped out as the club attempted to lower payroll. One such move was the deal that sent Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners, with four players coming back the other way, one of those being Fraley. Once the season began, a rash of injuries took a toll on the players who remained, with the club limping out to a 3-18 start to the season, easily the worst in the league.

Fraley had a solid season in Seattle last year but hasn’t played well since moving to Cincy, perhaps because of this knee issue. This isn’t something that just popped up suddenly, as he also missed a few games earlier in the season because of it. On the year, he’s hitting .116/.208/.233, but will now take some time to heal up and hopefully come back healthier and more productive.

The club’s outfield depth has also taken a hit with a couple of notable cuts, as both Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino have been released this season. Friedl will slot into the outfield mix alongside Tommy Pham, Tyler Naquin, Nick Senzel and Matt Reynolds. Friedl hasn’t hit much in his MLB action thus far, though in a small sample of just 17 games. In 128 Triple-A games, however, he’s hit a decent .256/.356/.412.

Reds Activate Jonathan India, Designate JT Riddle For Assignment

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The Reds announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated second baseman Jonathan India from the injured list and designated utilityman JT Riddle for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Cincinnati also optioned infielder Alejo Lopez to Triple-A and added infielder Matt Reynolds to the active roster. The Reds claimed Reynolds off waivers a couple days ago.

India, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, wound up requiring only a minimal stay on the injured list while nursing a hamstring strain. He’s back in the lineup hitting leadoff for today’s game. The 25-year-old has gotten out to a slow start in his sophomore season, hitting just .241/.267/.276 — albeit in a tiny sample of 30 plate appearances. The 2021 season saw India, a former No. 5 overall draft pick, break out with an outstanding .269/.376/.459 batting line, 21 home runs, 34 doubles, two triples and a dozen steals.

As for Riddle, the 30-year-old journeyman appeared in two games and went 1-for-4 with a single in that brief look. He signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in the offseason and got out to a fast start in Triple-A Louisville, where he hit .258/.333/.516 in 36 trips to the plate. That said, Riddle is a career .244/.296/.396 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, including a tepid .202/.269/.333 last season with the Twins’ top affiliate in St. Paul. The former Marlins prospect has spent the bulk of his pro career playing shortstop, but he’s moved into more of a utility role in recent seasons, seeing ample time at second base, third base and all three outfield spots (center, in particular).

The Reds will have a week to trade Riddle, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Reds Place Daniel Duarte On 10-Day IL, Recall Alejo Lopez

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The Reds have placed right-handed pitcher Daniel Duarte on the 10-day injured list with elbow swelling, per a team announcement. Infielder Alejo Lopez has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Duarte was just recalled yesterday to take the roster spot of Nick Senzel, who was himself placed on the IL. After throwing one inning in yesterday’s game, Duarte will join Senzel on the injured list. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut earlier in the year and now has 2 2/3 big league innings under his belt.

As for Lopez, he made his MLB debut last year, slashing an even .261/.261/.261 in a small sample of 23 plate appearances. In Triple-A last year, he didn’t provide much power but walked more than he struck out, leading to a slashline of .303/.386/.446. That amounted to a 126 wRC+ over 290 plate appearances. The 25-year-old (26 next month) has primarily played second and third base, with brief appearances in the outfield and at shortstop as well. He’ll provide some depth for a Reds position player mix that’s already taken a few hits in recent weeks. Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker were traded to the Mariners, while Shogo Akiyama was released. The early-season IL already features the aforementioned Senzel, alongside Max Schrock, Donovan Solano and Jose Barrero.

Trying To Find Hidden Gems With BB/K

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A few days ago, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked back on the trade that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. to the Giants. At the time, Wade had a fairly unimpressive track record, but did have a knack for generating walks and limiting strikeouts. Whether that was what piqued the Giants’ interest or not, it worked out for them, as Wade had a nice season in 2021. His strikeout rate shot up, but he still hit 18 home runs and slashed .253/.326/.482, for a wRC+ of 117.

A young hitter’s command of the strike zone can often be a helpful indicator of future success, like it was in Wade’s case. Mookie Betts was never at the top of prospect lists, as he was on Baseball America’s Top 100 only once, coming in at #75 prior to the 2014 season. But looking back on his strikeout and walk rates in the minors, perhaps it should have been more obvious that he was a superstar in the making. At Low-A, A-Ball, High-A and Double-A, he posted a BB/K above 1.00, meaning he walked more than he struck out. At Triple-A in 2014, it was 0.87, still very impressive. Jose Ramirez never appeared on Baseball America’s Top 100, and even just among Cleveland prospects, he peaked at #9 in 2014. He also kept his BB/K rate around 1.00 for most of his time in the minors, and has carried that forward into the majors as well.

That’s not to say that every minor leaguer with a strong BB/K rate will turn into a superstar like Betts or Ramirez. Jace Peterson put up solid BB/K rates as well, but has settled in as an average-ish role player. Austin Barnes also had a keen eye throughout the minors, before becoming a solid second string catcher. But those players can still be plenty useful for a big league club. Can we find the next hidden gem of this type? Let’s sniff around. Here are some standout BB/K numbers from the minors in 2021.

Alejo Lopez, infielder, Reds, BB/K at Double-A and Triple-A in 2021: 1.41

A 27th round selection of the Reds in 2015, Lopez had never appeared on the club’s top 30 prospects list at Baseball America prior to this season. (He would eventually crack the midseason rankings, coming in at #21.) He had posted strong strikeout and walk numbers in rookie ball action in 2016 and 2017, putting up a BB/K above 1.00 in each year. In 2018 and 2019, he played in A-ball and High-A, with his BB/K slipping to around 0.50 in each year. After the pandemic canceled the minor leagues in 2020, Lopez hit the ground running in 2021. In 92 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .320/.401/.447, with a walk rate of 11% and strikeout rate of just 7.8%, leading to a huge BB/K of 1.41. He got called up for his MLB debut and didn’t hit much, but in a tiny sample size of 23 plate appearances. He’ll turn 26 in May.

Isaac Paredes, infielder, Tigers, BB/K at Triple-A in 2021: 1.19.

In 2018, Paredes reached Double-A for the first time and put up a BB/K rate of 0.86 in just 39 games. In 2019, he returned to Double-A and played in 127 games, improving his rate to 0.93. In 2020, the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues, but Paredes made his big league debut. The transition to MLB wasn’t terribly smooth as he hit .220 over 34 games, with a BB/K of just 0.33. In 2021, he spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, playing 72 games there, hitting .265/.397/.451 while walking in an incredible 17.8% of his plate appearances and striking out just 14.9% of the time, for a BB/K ratio of 1.19. He also got into 23 more MLB games and had a BB/K rate of 0.91 there. Paredes has appeared on the backend of Baseball America’s Top 100, coming in at #94 before the 2019 season and #100 before 2020. He’s still quite young, as he won’t turn 23 until February.

Steven Kwan, outfielder, Guardians, BB/K at Double-A and Triple-A in 2021: 1.16

Kwan was selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2018 draft and got into 17 games that year in the lower levels of their system. In 2019, he played 123 games at High-A, with a BB/K of 1.04. After missing out on 2020 due to the pandemic, he spent 2021 between Double-A and Triple-A, playing 77 games in total and logging 341 plate appearances. Overall, he hit .328/.407/.527, along with a walk rate of 10.6% and strikeout rate of 9.1%, winding up with a final BB/K of 1.16. He’s never been on Baseball America’s prospects for Cleveland, though he did just barely crack FanGraphs’ list a year ago, taking the final spot on a list of 49. The Guardians added him to their 40-man roster in November.

Tyler White, infielder, Blue Jays, BB/K at Triple-A in 2021: 1.10

A 33rd round draft pick of the Astros in 2013, White has never been viewed as a top prospect. He only appeared on Baseball America’s top 30 Houston Astros’ prospect list once, coming in at #16 back in 2016. But he has always had a good eye for the strike zone. His first crack at Double-A was 59 games in 2015, where his BB/K was 1.20. In 57 games at Triple-A that same year, it was 1.11. He made his MLB debut the following year and appeared in parts of four seasons from 2016 to 2019. He showed some promise with the bat in 2017 and 2018 but floundered in 2019 before joining the SK Wyverns of the KBO for 2020. In 2021, he signed a minors deal with the Blue Jays, playing 105 games and hitting .292/.424/.476. His walk rate was 18.1% and his strikeout rate was 16.5%, for a final BB/K rate of 1.10. Despite that tremendous year at the plate, he never got the call to the big leagues, likely due to his limited positional flexibility. Other than one game at third base, he was exclusively a first baseman or designated hitter in 2021. Now 31, he signed a minor league deal with the Brewers last month.

Cooper Hummel, utility, Brewers/Diamondbacks, BB/K at Triple-A in 2021: 1.03

Hummel was selected by the Brewers in the 16th round of the 2016 draft and never appeared on Baseball America’s top 30 prospects for the club. In 2021, he started the year at Triple-A and got into 46 games for the Nashville Sounds, racking up an incredible BB/K of 1.58. He was flipped to the Diamondbacks as part of the Eduardo Escobar trade and got into 46 more games after that. Although his BB/K was just 0.63 after the trade, he still finished the year at 1.03 overall. Oh, and he hit .353/.429/.575 after the deal. Now 27, the Diamondbacks added Hummel to their 40-man roster in November.

Jonah Bride, utility, Athletics, BB/K at Double-A in 2021: 1.00

Bride was a 23rd round selection of the Athletics in 2018. He hit well in his first couple of minor league seasons, but took a step forward in 2021 in terms of plate discipline. His walk rate and strikeout rate were equal at 17.1%, as he had exactly 57 of each in 334 Double-A plate appearances. He’s never been on Baseball America’s top 30 Oakland prospects, but FanGraphs just placed him 17th in the organization, noting that he recently started an attempt to convert from an infielder into a catcher. He was added to Oakland’s 40-man roster in November.

Reds Activate Brad Brach, Option Alejo Lopez

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The Reds have activated right-handed pitcher Brad Brach from the injured list, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, infielder Alejo Lopez has been optioned Triple-A.

Signed to a minor league deal May 6th, the Reds selected Brach’s contract May 21st. The righty went on to log 29 innings out of the Cincy bullpen, with an ERA of 5.59. Barring a strong finish, this would be Brach’s third consecutive season with an ERA north of 5.00, after seven solid seasons split between the Padres, Orioles and Braves.

Brach’s 24.1% strikeout rate on the year is close to league average, but command has been the issue for him of late. His 12.8% walk rate is well above the league-wide rate of 8.7%, though it’s at least an improvement over the ghastly 24.1% rate he put up in 2020.

Despite dealing with bullpen issues all year, the Reds find themselves holding down the second National League wild card spot, going into today’s games with a half game lead over the Padres. Brach figures to be used in low-leverage situations for the time being, with Mychal Givens, Michael Lorenzen, Lucas Sims and Amir Garrett covering the high-leverage spots.

Reds Designate Scott Heineman For Assignment, Select Alejo Lopez

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The Reds announced Monday morning that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Alejo Lopez and designated outfielder Scott Heineman for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Heineman, 28, was 3-for-30 in a brief, 19-game look with Cincinnati this season after coming over from the Rangers via a December trade that sent young Jose Acosta to Texas. That rough showing dipped his career batting line in the big leagues to .172/.249/.325 through 173 plate appearances — all coming with either Texas or Cincinnati. Heineman has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s posted a hearty .302/.368/.458 slash through 699 trips to the plate.

As for the 25-year-old Lopez, he’s in the midst of a breakout campaign in the upper minors. He didn’t enter the season regarded as one of the better prospects in the Reds organization, but Lopez destroyed the Double-A Southern League with a .362/.437/.448 batting line before moving to Triple-A and upping the pace with a .358/.436/.526 slash through a nearly identical sample of plate appearances.

Lopez has had some good fortune in terms of balls in play (.404 BABIP in Double-A, .368 in Triple-A), but his output is also buoyed by what look to be exceptional bat-to-ball skills. Lopez has just 18 strikeouts against 24 walks through 229 plate appearances this season, helping to offset a lack of power. Lopez has only two home runs (both in Triple-A) and just nine long balls in 1564 plate appearances in minor league ball overall. But he’s also swatted 19 doubles in this year’s 229 trips to the plate and gone 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

Lopez has split his time between second base and third base this season, with the former of those two spots being his primary position throughout his minor league career. He does have some experience at shortstop and got some work in left field while playing winter ball in Mexico. He’ll give Cincinnati a switch-hitting presence to bounce around the diamond. This will be Lopez’s first call to the Majors after being a 27th-round pick by the Reds back in 2015. He’s controllable through at least the 2027 season.

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