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Fernando Cruz

Yankees Place Luke Weaver On Injured List

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June 3: Weaver is now officially on the IL, per a club announcement. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco has also been designated for assignment. It was reported yesterday that he had been placed on waivers. To replace those two, righty Fernando Cruz has been reinstated from the IL and righty Yerry De Los Santos has been recalled. The club also reinstated infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the IL with fellow infielder Jorbit Vivas optioned down to the minors.

June 2: The Yankees expect to place closer Luke Weaver on the 15-day injured list, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Weaver injured his hamstring while warming up during Sunday’s game. Passan notes that the team has yet to finalize a timetable but suggests it may be a four-to-six week absence.

Weaver has been one of baseball’s best relievers since landing in the Bronx. He turned in a 2.89 ERA while ranking third in MLB with 84 relief innings last year. Weaver punched out more than 31% of opponents. He recorded 22 holds and supplanted Clay Holmes as Aaron Boone’s closer in September. Weaver saved four more games while adding 15 1/3 frames of three-run ball in the postseason.

The offseason Devin Williams trade was supposed to push Weaver back into the setup role he’d held for the bulk of 2024. That arrangement lasted for around a month. Williams allowed three or more runs in three of his first 10 appearances. The Yankees pulled him from the ninth inning by the end of April, hoping that a setup role would allow him to find his footing in his new home.

Weaver drew back in as closer and has gone 8-9 in save chances. Despite a six-point drop in his strikeout rate, Weaver has been as effective as he was last season. He has only surrendered three runs in 25 2/3 frames. Boone will presumably provide an update on the team’s plans for the ninth inning when he meets with the New York beat before tomorrow’s series opener against the Guardians.

Williams has been far better of late, reeling off scoreless appearances in 10 of his last 11 outings. He’s striking out almost 40% of opponents in that time. Giving him the ninth inning is the most straightforward option. If the Yankees don’t want to do that, perhaps if they’re set on returning the role to Weaver once he’s healthy, then Mark Leiter Jr. or Fernando Cruz would be the other options. Cruz is expected back from shoulder inflammation tomorrow.

If Weaver does wind up requiring a 4-6 week recovery, the Yankees would get him back around the All-Star Break. They’d have a couple weeks to evaluate how their bullpen looks leading up to the trade deadline. Weaver is on track for free agency at the end of the season. He should have plenty of time to return and cement his status among the top two or three relievers in the class. He’ll probably be limited to a three-year deal as he enters his age-32 season, but he should command a strong annual value if he comes back without issue.

Yankees Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment

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June 3: The Yankees announced today that Carrasco has been designated for assignment while Cruz has been reinstated from the IL, as expected. Additionally, Luke Weaver landed on the 15-day IL, as was previously reported. Righty Yerry De Los Santos was recalled in a corresponding move. The Yanks also reinstated infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the IL and optioned infielder Jorbit Vivas.

June 2: The Yankees have placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on outright waivers, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. Players can be placed on waivers without being designated for assignment, so it seems Carrasco is still on the roster for now. However, Sherman notes that righty Fernando Cruz could be coming off the injured list on Tuesday. The Yankees are off today, so it seems like Carrasco could be the corresponding move for Cruz tomorrow.

The veteran Carrasco was only just added to the Yankee roster yesterday. Their pitching staff had been used fairly heavily in the prior days. Facing the Dodgers this weekend, the Yanks used five pitchers in Friday’s 8-5 loss. Then on Saturday, they got creamed 18-2. Starter Will Warren only lasted an inning and a third in that game, forcing the Yankees to use seven other pitchers to get through the rest of the game. One of those was utility player Pablo Reyes but the larger point is that the bullpen got pushed pretty hard.

Carrasco was added to give the club a fresh arm just in case Sunday’s game was another nightmare but it thankfully went far smoother. Ryan Yarbrough started and gave the club six good innings in a game the club eventually won 7-3. Jonathan Loáisiga tossed the seventh and Devin Williams the eighth. Luke Weaver was going to toss the ninth but was held back due to some hamstring discomfort. Tim Hill came in instead and got the final three outs.

That seemingly puts Carrasco in the unfortunate position of losing his roster spot without getting into a game. He was with the Yankees earlier this year and logged 32 innings in a swing role but had a 5.91 earned run average in that time. He got bumped off the roster and cleared waivers. He accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and made two starts there. The first outing was fine but the second was rough, as he allowed five earned runs without making it out of the second inning.

It seems unlikely that Carrasco will be claimed. He just cleared less than a month ago and hasn’t been in great form since. However, it’s also theoretically possible that there’s a team which has been snakebit by injuries of late and is more willing to take a chance on Carrasco now than they were just a few weeks ago.

If he does go unclaimed and the Yankees outright him off the roster, he has more than enough service time to elect free agency. However, the last time he cleared, he accepted and reported to the RailRiders, so perhaps he would do so again.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Yankees, Reds Swap Jose Trevino For Fernando Cruz

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The Yankees and Reds finalized a trade on Friday night that sends catcher Jose Trevino to Cincinnati for reliever Fernando Cruz and non-roster catcher Alex Jackson.

Trevino is on the move for the second time in his career. The Yankees landed him from the Rangers shortly after Opening Day 2022 in a deal that sent reliever Albert Abreu to Arlington. That was a win for the New York front office, as Trevino developed into a quality defensive catcher in the Bronx. Abreu, on the other hand, pitched seven times with the Rangers before they lost him on waivers.

The 2022 season has been Trevino’s best. He appeared in a career-high 115 games, hitting .248/.283/.388 through 353 plate appearances. Trevino led all catchers with 21 Defensive Runs Saved that season, earning an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove.

Trevino has opened each of the past two years as New York’s primary catcher. His playing time and offensive production have dropped, though he continues to grade very highly for his receiving skills. Trevino has only appeared in 129 games over the past two years. In 2023, that was largely the result of a ligament tear in his right wrist that necessitated season-ending surgery in July.

The 32-year-old stayed mostly heathy this past season. He missed a month between the All-Star Break and the middle of August because of a quad strain. Trevino was otherwise on the active roster but fell into a depth role. Rookie of the Year finalist Austin Wells is a superior offensive player who grades as an elite receiving catcher in his own right.

Trevino was limited to 62 starts behind the plate overall. He’d basically become a non-factor by the end of the year, as he appeared in just 14 games between his return from the injured list on August 15 and the end of the regular season. He only got two starts during the Yankees’ run to the World Series. He took 234 trips to the plate and hit .215/.288/.354 with eight home runs.

Part of the dip in playing time has been attributable to Trevino’s difficulty controlling the running game. According to Statcast, only Yasmani Grandal had a higher average pop time (throw time to second base on stolen base attempts) than Trevino’s 2.07 second mark. Opponents swiped 57 bases out of 70 attempts in his 544 1/3 innings. Trevino continues to grade exceptionally highly for his framing skills and blocking ability, so he remains a valuable defender, but the subpar arm strength has become an issue.

The Reds evidently placed a lot of value on those receiving skills. Trevino should back up Tyler Stephenson, who hit .258/.338/.444 with a career-high 19 homers this past season. Stephenson started 112 games and tallied a little more than 1000 innings. He didn’t play any first base in ’24 but has played there sporadically in prior seasons. Cincinnati could give Stephenson a few more modified rest days at first base or designated hitter if they’re comfortable with Trevino logging 70+ starts behind the dish.

Trevino has over five years of service time. MLTBR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.4MM salary during his last trip through the arbitration process. Taking that on pushes the team’s projected payroll to $104MM (courtesy of RosterResource). The Reds ended the ’23 campaign with a payroll around $100MM and have indicated they’re comfortable matching or exceeding that number.

Stephenson had been the only catcher on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster. They obviously needed to acquire a veteran backup, but it’s still surprising to see the Reds relinquish Cruz for one year of Trevino’s services. Cruz has been a fixture in Cincinnati’s bullpen for the last two years. He has scattershot command but elite bat-missing ability.

Cruz, a native of Puerto Rico, was drafted as an infielder back in 2007. He flamed out as a hitter and was out of affiliated ball entirely between 2016-21. Cruz converted to pitching in 2012 and continued to plug away, however, eventually catching the attention of Reds’ scouts in the independent ranks. He dominated Triple-A opponents in 2022 and earned his first major league call as a 32-year-old that September.

Typically, players who don’t reach the majors until they’re in their 30s are quickly dropped from the roster. Cruz pitched well in his late-season cameo, however, and the Reds kept him on their 40-man. He has topped 65 innings in each of the past two seasons, building from middle relief in 2023 to become one of David Bell’s more frequent leverage options in front of closer Alexis Díaz.

The bottom line results have not been great. Cruz has allowed nearly five earned runs per nine in both seasons. He owns a 4.52 ERA across 147 1/3 career innings. ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA find him significantly more interesting than the actual run prevention would suggest — a testament to his gaudy swing-and-miss numbers.

Cruz has fanned over 35% of opponents in each of the last two seasons. He carries a cumulative 36.5% strikeout rate over that stretch. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, only Josh Hader and Aroldis Chapman have posted a better mark. Spencer Strider, Kirby Yates, Garrett Crochet, Jeff Hoffman, Bryan Abreu, Paul Skenes and Tyler Glasnow round out the top 10. Cruz is similarly dominant on a per-pitch basis. His 16.7% swinging strike rate ranks fifth among that group — trailing Strider, Hader, Andrés Muñoz and Ryan Helsley.

Pitching isn’t solely about strikeouts, of course, but most pitchers who miss bats at those rates are impact arms. Cruz holds himself back to some extent by issuing too many free passes. He walked 12.2% of batters faced this year and has given out free passes to 11.4% of opponents in his career. That’s a concern, but it’s easy to see why the Yankees identified him as an upside play.

Cruz’s calling card is a low-80s splitter, which is one of the most effective pitches in the sport. Cruz used the offering a little more than 40% of the time this year. Opponents only made contact around 40% of the time they swung at it. Batters hit .116 against it. Cruz used it as the finishing pitch for 88 of his 109 strikeouts.

Exceptional as the splitter was, opponents teed off on his other two offerings — a 94 MPH four-seam fastball and a cutter that sits in the high 80s. Cruz has preferred to mix all three pitches rather than fully unleashing the splitter. Whether that’s because of his own comfort or the preference of Cincinnati’s coaching staff isn’t clear, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Yankees pushed him to lean more frequently on that pitch. New York allowed Tommy Kahnle to abandon his fastball and throw essentially all changeups for his entire playoff run, for instance.

Cruz has just over two years of big league service. He’s under club control for four seasons. The extended control window isn’t a huge factor for a pitcher who’ll turn 35 in March. It’s a boost in the short term, though, as the Yankees can plug him into the bullpen for around the league minimum salary in 2025.

Jackson, who turns 29 on Christmas, rounds out the return to backfill the catching depth. He signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati last month and will not occupy a 40-man roster spot. Jackson appeared in a career-high 58 games for the Rays last season, hitting .122 over 159 plate appearances. He’s a career .132/.224/.232 hitter over parts of five campaigns. Jackson should get a Spring Training invite, where he can compete with 29-year-old J.C. Escarra — who is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t appeared in the majors — for the backup job behind Wells.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Trevino was being traded to Cincinnati. The Post’s Joel Sherman was first with the entire trade. Images courtesy of Imagn.

Reds Designate Kevin Herget For Assignment

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The Reds announced that right-hander Fernando Cruz has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list, with righty Kevin Herget designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The Reds have been endlessly cycling pitchers through their roster over the past week or so due to this COVID outbreak. Cruz was one of four pitchers to land on the IL due to the virus, alongside Hunter Greene, Ben Lively and Brandon Williamson. Those absences forced the club to make transactions on an almost daily basis to keep the staff stocked with available arms.

Herget, 32, was one of those fresh arms, getting selected to the roster earlier this week. He entered Wednesday’s game with the club down 8-3 to the Mariners and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames to finish the contest. But with Cruz now back from the IL, he’s been bumped from the roster. Players on the COVID IL don’t count against the 40-man roster, so the return of Cruz meant that Herget had to be removed from there instead of merely being optioned.

The right-handed Herget signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and has now been selected and then designated for assignment twice this year. He was also on the 40-man roster from early April to the middle of June, getting frequently optioned to Triple-A and back in that time. On the whole, he has thrown 24 1/3 innings in the bigs this year with a 5.18 ERA, 12.4% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 33.3% ground ball rate.

With the trade deadline long passed, the Reds will have to put Herget on waivers in the coming days. Back in June, he passed through unclaimed and could have elected free agency but decided to stick with the Reds. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out now, though that remains to be seen.

Reds Designate Alan Busenitz For Assignment, Reinstate Tejay Antone

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The Reds announced a batch of moves between games of today’s double-header. Right-hander Tejay Antone was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, righty Lyon Richardson was recalled and righty Carson Spiers has been added as a substitute player. Righties Fernando Cruz, Hunter Greene and Ben Lively were placed on the COVID-19 injured list, while outfielder TJ Hopkins was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Right-hander Alan Busenitz was designated for assignment and righty Tony Santillan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville.

Antone is back on the MLB roster for the first time in over two years. The reliever was amidst a breakout 2021 showing, emerging as Cincinnati’s closer late in the season after throwing 33 2/3 innings of 2.14 ERA ball, before his UCL gave out. He underwent Tommy John surgery — the second of his career — and spent all of 2022 rehabbing.

The Reds expressed hope Antone would return by the start of the ’23 campaign. He suffered a setback over the offseason, announcing in February that he’d been diagnosed with a flexor strain. It didn’t require surgery but has cost him the first five months of the season.

Antone has been on a rehab stint since late July. He pitched twice at the club’s complex before heading to Triple-A Louisville for 12 appearances. He was solid if unexceptional for the Bats, turning in 12 innings of four-run ball while striking out 11 and walking five.

It’d be a lot to ask of Antone to immediately rediscover his 2021 form. Yet even average output would be welcome for a Cincinnati relief corps that ranks 15th with a 3.96 ERA and 25th with a 22.5% strikeout rate. The bullpen hasn’t been as catastrophic as it had been for the past two seasons, but it’s still a relative weak point on an offense-first Reds’ roster.

Spiers, 25, also steps into the relief corps, in his case for the first time. The Clemson product is in position to make his major league debut after turning in a 3.69 ERA through 83 innings as a swing option for Double-A Chattanooga. He’s striking out nearly 30% of opposing hitters against an elevated 11.3% walk rate.

Players designated as COVID substitutes are temporarily added to the roster. Spiers won’t assume a permanent spot on the 40-man roster and can be sent back to the minors without first clearing waivers. He’ll help cover for the trio of pitchers affected by an apparent virus spread in the clubhouse.

Busenitz will hit waivers in the next few days. The right-hander has been on and off the big league roster a few times since his contract was selected in mid-May. Busenitz has pitched just five times at the MLB level, allowing two runs in five innings during his first big league work since 2018. Over 43 frames with Louisville, he owns a 4.53 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk numbers.

Santillan clears waivers after being designated for assignment a few days ago. It’s his first career outright and he has less than three years of MLB service, so he’ll stick in the organization at Triple-A. If the Reds don’t add him back to the 40-man roster by the end of the season, he’d reach minor league free agency.

Reds Place Wil Myers On 15-Day IL, Recall Will Benson

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves ahead of this afternoon’s game against the Cubs as they placed outfielder Wil Myers on the 10-day injured list due to a kidney stone and activated right-hander Fernando Cruz from the 15-day IL. In corresponding moves, the club recalled outfielder Will Benson from Triple-A and and optioned right-hander Alan Busenitz to Triple-A.

Myers, 32, signed a one-year deal with the Reds this past offseason to act as the club’s regular right fielder. That pact has hardly gone accordingly to plan so far, however, as Myers has slashed a brutal .189/.257/.283 in 141 plate appearances across 37 game this season. Prior to signing with the Reds during the offseason, Myers had spent the past eight seasons as a member of the Padres, slashing a solid .254/.330/.452 with a wRC+ of 111 in 888 games with San Diego.

While the Reds were surely hoping for such a similar performance this season to help steady their offense, Myers’s struggles have helped contribute to an offense that ranks in the bottom five across baseball in terms of slugging percentage thanks to an offense that struggles to find production outside of TJ Friedl, Jonathan India, and Spencer Steer.

In Myers’s place, the Reds have recalled Benson, who the club acquired from the Guardians this past offseason to shore up their outfield mix. A former first round pick who turns 25 next month, Benson has a great deal of upside, though his results have not matched it to this point. in 87 MLB plate appearances so far in his career, Benson has slashed just .138/.198/.150 with a wRC+ of -1, though he sports a far more palatable .243/.396/.464 slash line in 641 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Benson figures to mix into the outfield for the Reds alongside Friedl, Jake Fraley, and Stuart Fairchild while Myers is on the shelf.

Joining Benson in returning to the active roster is Cruz, a 33-year-old journeyman who made his major league debut with the Reds last year. Since then, the right-hander has posted a 3.81 ERA with a 3.12 FIP in 28 1/3 innings of work, good for a 124 ERA+. That ERA is inflated by a brutal stretch of five appearances prior to Cruz’s placement on the injured list, during which he allowed eight runs on eleven hits in just 7 1/3 innings. As Cruz attempts to get back on track, he’ll join a Reds bullpen that has been a bright spot for the club this season, ranking top 10 in baseball in FIP and third in terms of fWAR.

Making room for Cruz on the roster is Busenitz, who heads to Triple-A after just pitching just four innings for the big league club. The 32-year-old righty allowed two runs in four innings of work while striking out three. Busenitz figures to act as depth for Cincinnati going forward at the Triple-A level, where he sports a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings of work.

Reds Notes: Friedl, Cruz, Ramos, Votto

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TJ Friedl was (retroactively) placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain on May 12, and the thought at the time was that Friedl might only miss the minimum 10 days, given that the Reds were somewhat on the fence about whether or not to even place him on the IL.  As it turns out, Friedl might indeed be back quickly, as manager David Bell told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s duo of Charlie Goldsmith and Bobby Nightengale) that Friedl will take live batting practice on Monday, and could be activated from the IL for Tuesday’s game if all goes well following the BP session.

It’s a relief on a few levels for Friedl and the Reds, since even minor oblique injuries can linger for weeks on end, and because Friedl has been a big part of Cincinnati’s lineup.  More or less alternating between center and left field, Friedl leads the Reds with 1.2 fWAR, owing to his overall contribution as a defender, baserunner, and hitter.  Friedl has hit .306/.351/.468 with three homers over 138 plate appearances, albeit with some good fortune — the outfielder has a .376 BABIP, and his .354 wOBA is far greater than his .283 xwOBA.

Fernando Cruz might also be nearing a return, as the right-hander started a Triple-A rehab assignment today.  Cruz has missed the last three weeks due to a shoulder strain, and the team’s plan is to give him three rehab outings before potentially reinstating him from the 15-day injured list next week.  Cruz had a 6.59 ERA over 13 2/3 relief innings before hitting the IL, though the last 2 2/3 of those innings (and three of Cruz’s 10 earned runs allowed) came after Cruz said he started to feel discomfort in his throwing shoulder.

The Reds placed Henry Ramos on the 10-day IL yesterday due to a right hip strain, and Bell said that Ramos will receive an MRI on Monday.  Friedl’s impending return means that Cincinnati probably won’t be shorthanded in the outfield for too long, but the MRI should reveal how long Ramos might be out of action.

Joey Votto has yet to play this season, but the longtime Reds star might be a bit closer to a return, as he participated in live batting practice with the Reds’ Triple-A club in Louisville today.  Votto will be re-evaluated tomorrow as the Reds try to determine whether or not the first baseman might be able to restart his rehab assignment.

After undergoing season-ending rotator cuff and bicep surgery last August, Votto has been taking a cautious path, as his recovery process delayed his Spring Training work.  Votto began the season on the 10-day injured list but played 10 games during a Triple-A rehab assignment in April before the assignment was paused, as Votto wasn’t nearly ready to return before the end of his 20-day rehab window.  After another month of treatment and ramping up his baseball activities, Votto now looks like he might be able to take the field again in Louisville.  The Reds moved Votto to the 60-day IL, so he isn’t eligible to return until the end of May anyway, though he will surely take longer than that to get fully ready.

Reds Place Fernando Cruz On 15-Day Injured List

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The Reds placed right-hander Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain, with a retroactive placement date of April 29.  Graham Ashcraft was reinstated from the bereavement list and will take Cruz’s spot on the active roster.

Cruz allowed two runs in an inning of work on Friday, which was his first appearance since he tossed 1 2/3 innings (allowing one run) against the Pirates on April 23.  As Cruz told MLB.com and other media, his shoulder began to bother him following the Pittsburgh game, and even after a few days off, the discomfort returned after his outing on Friday.  An IL stint will hopefully correct the issue, as manager David Bell said the team’s training staff believes the strain is minor.

It’s been a tough stretch overall for Cruz, who had a 2.84 ERA through his first 6 1/3 innings of the season but has since allowed at least one run in each of his last five appearances (for a 9.82 ERA over 7 1/3 IP).  While Cruz is missing plenty of bats with his 30.8% strikeout rate, he also has an unimpressive 12.3% walk rate.

The 33-year-old is in his second MLB season, after making his debut with 14 games for Cincinnati in 2022.  Originally a sixth-round pick for the Royals back in the 2007 draft, Cruz’s long journey to the big leagues included a move from infield work to pitching, and stints in the Mexican League and independent ball before he finally broke in with the Reds last year.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Reds Select Spencer Steer, Fernando Cruz

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11:15am: The Reds have formally selected the contracts of Steer and right-hander Fernando Cruz, per a team announcement. Mike Moustakas and righty Jeff Hoffman were transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.

Cruz, 32, reaches the big leagues in the culmination of one of the more remarkable baseball journeys in recent memory. Drafted by the Royals as an infielder back in 2007, he toiled through four minor league seasons before beginning to experiment off the mound in 2011 and giving up infield work for good by 2012. Cruz still struggled to advance through the minors, however, and after a one-year stop  in the Cubs organization, was out of affiliated ball entirely by 2016.

From 2016-21, Cruz split his time between the Puerto Rican Winter League, the Mexican League (both winter and regular season) and the independent Canadian-American Association, where he worked as a starter and closer alike for the New Jersey Jackals. The Reds signed him this past winter on the heels of his latest indie ball campaign, and he’s broken out with 56 innings of 2.89 ERA ball in Triple-A, where he’s punched out 29.3% of his opponents against an 8.4% walk rate.

Whether Cruz is truly a long-term piece for the Reds can be debated, but it’s hard not to be happy for a 32-year-old rookie who was out of affiliated ball for six seasons. A call to the Majors must have seemed like a pipe dream not long ago for Cruz, but that MLB debut could come any day now.

8:27am: The Reds are promoting top infield prospect Spencer Steer to the Majors, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. He’ll join the big league team today as part of September roster expansion and should get regular opportunities down the stretch.

Steer, 24, came to the Reds alongside left-hander Steven Hajjar and infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the deadline trade that sent right-hander Tyler Mahle to Minnesota. He recently moved into the back end of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect rankings, checking in at No. 98 on this month’s update.

A third-round pick by Minnesota back in 2019, Steer was the headliner in that Mahle trade, due in no small part to the numbers he posted between Double-A (.307/.385/.591, 144 wRC+) and Triple-A (.242/.345/.485, 117 wRC+) during his time with the Twins. Steer has continued at a strong pace with Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, hitting at a .297/.375/.467 pace. Between the two organizations, he’s combined for 23 home runs, 30 doubles, a pair of triples and four steals (in seven tries). He’s walked at a 10.4% clip and punched out in 18.1% of his trips to the plate this season.

The Reds have played Steer at all four infield positions, plus one game in right field, but he’s spent the vast majority of his time at second base and third base — both this season and in his professional career. With 2021 National League Rookie of the Year Jonathan India entrenched at second base, Steer seems likely ticketed for the hot corner, at least in the long term. For the short term, however, the Reds could potentially continue to bounce him around the diamond while getting a look at his bat against big league pitching. With Joey Votto out for the season and Mike Moustakas back on the injured list (and clearly not factoring into the team’s long-term plans), Steer should have plenty opportunities for at-bats alongside India and shortstop Jose Barrero, giving Reds fans a potential glimpse of the future infield.

Steer displayed an ability to make consistent contact this year, has steadily improved his power output since being drafted, and is a solid defender at multiple positions. Steer sits outside the top-100 rankings at FanGraphs and MLB.com but ranks ninth and seventh in the Reds’ system on those respective rankings. Scouting reports on him generally agree that he lacks a true plus tool but also lacks any glaring flaws; his blend of defensive versatility, solid bat-to-ball skills, improved power and an at-least average arm give him the potential to be a regular in the Cincinnati infield for years to come.

Depending on how much playing time Steer receives down the stretch, it’s possible he’ll exhaust his rookie status over the next five weeks. He’d need more than 130 at-bats to do so, but regardless, he won’t receive a full year of service in 2022 and won’t put himself on a path to Super Two trajectory, based on this September promotion. If he remains rookie-eligible heading into 2023, the Reds would retain the ability to receive compensatory draft picks based on potential Rookie of the Year voting in 2023.

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