Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson, Option Mark Kolozsvary
The Reds have activated catcher Tyler Stephenson from the injured list. In a corresponding move, Mark Kolozsvary was optioned to Triple-A, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).
Kolozsvary, 26, made just 11 plate appearances in the Majors, doubling once and striking out five times. The Reds drafted him in the seventh round of the amateur draft back in 2017. He’s made his way through the ranks of Cincinnati’s system, reaching Triple-A for the first time in 2021.
Stephenson has arguably been the Reds’ best offensive performer this season. The 25-year-old backstop was handed the full-time starting gig last winter when Tucker Barnhart was traded to Detroit. Stephenson responded by slashing .305/.361/.468 over 155 plate appearances.
Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson From Injured List
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.
USA Baseball Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster
11:10AM: The full roster has been announced by USA Baseball (Twitter link). Beyond the names already mentioned, the roster also includes Clayton Andrews, Jonathan Bowlan, Brandon Dickson, DJ Johnson, Trevor Lane, Matthew Liberatore, Drew Parrish, Marc Rzepczynski, James Sherfy, Simeon Woods Richardson, Tim Federowicz, Mark Kolozsvary, Nick Allen, Eddy Alvarez, Logan Forsythe, Luke Williams, Eric Filia, and Jon Jay.
9:54AM: The United States Olympic baseball team will have its full roster announced later today, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that several well-known big league names will be part of Team USA.
Right-handers Homer Bailey, Edwin Jackson, and David Robertson will be part of the pitching mix, as will left-hander Anthony Gose. Matt Kemp, Matt Wieters, and Todd Frazier are some of the veteran position players. Bailey, Kemp, and Wieters all played in the majors as recently as 2020 and didn’t sign with a new team this past offseason, while Frazier appeared in 13 games for the Pirates just this season. It was only back on May 13 that Frazier chose to become a free agent, after Pittsburgh designated him for assignment.
Beyond these experienced names, some notable youngsters will also be on the team, as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe noted yesterday that Red Sox prospects Triston Casas and Jarren Duran are participating. Rays right-handed pitching prospect Joe Ryan is also expected to be part of the team, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Any player not on a current 40-man Major League roster was eligible for Team USA, though naturally a team would have to agree to allow its minor leaguers to play.
Mike Scioscia will manage Team USA, and the team will take to the field on May 31-June 5 during a qualifying tournament in Florida. The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela are the other seven teams involved, and the winner of the tournament will automatically qualify for the Olympics. The second- and third-place finishers will advance to a final qualifying tournament against Australia, Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands on June 16-20 in Mexico, and the winner of that event will claim the sixth and final Olympic berth.
Japan, Mexico, Israel, and South Korea have already qualified for the baseball event at Olympic Games, which are scheduled to be held July 23-August 6 in Tokyo. Originally set to take place in 2020, the Olympics were naturally postponed for a year due to the pandemic, and the Games are still slated to get underway in July despite a worsening COVID-19 situation in Japan.
Reds Add Hunter Greene, Mark Kolozsvary To 60-Man Player Pool
The Reds have announced a few roster moves, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic was among those to report. They have two new additions to their 60-man player pool in right-hander Hunter Greene and catcher Mark Kolozsvary. The club also selected the contract of reliever Nate Jones, who will make its season-opening roster, and optioned infielder Alex Blandino.
Greene may be the most notable name in the group, as he went second overall in the 2017 draft and then signed with the Reds for a record-setting $7.23MM bonus. Unfortunately, though, Greene’s coming off a major injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2019, thereby preventing him from pitching at all last season and building on his 2018 effort. While the hard-throwing Greene only pitched to a 4.48 ERA across 68 1/3 innings in Single-A ball that year, he did notch a 3.29 FIP with 11.72 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9.
Kolozsvary, 24, was also part of the Reds’ 2017 draft class. The former seventh-rounder has topped out so far in High-A ball, where he put up an unconventional line of .188/.341/.321 with six home runs in 291 plate appearances last season.