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Nick Senzel

East Notes: Caminero, Senzel, Megill

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After hitting his first Triple-A home run earlier in the game, Rays top prospect Junior Caminero was forced to make an early exit from Sunday afternoon’s contest against the Norfolk Tides. He injured his left quad while running to first. According to Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times, Caminero “limped the last few steps to first base and eventually needed to be helped off the field.”

Caminero is set for further evaluation tomorrow. The severity of his injury is not yet clear, but it is worrisome that he was unable to walk off the field without assistance. The 20-year-old infielder is a consensus top-10 prospect in the game. While he failed to earn a spot on Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster, he was a likely candidate to earn a call-up mid-season after gaining some experience at Triple-A. The extent of his injury will surely play a role in how soon he can make an impact at the big league level.

The Rays are already low on infield depth early in the season. Shortstop Taylor Walls is currently out recovering from offseason hip surgery, while first/second/third baseman Jonathan Aranda broke a finger during spring training. In addition, utility player Amed Rosario made his first two starts in right field with outfielders Josh Lowe and Jonny DeLuca on the IL.

More news from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • The Nationals got some good news on Saturday, learning that third baseman Nick Senzel will not need surgery to repair his broken thumb (per Mark Zuckerman of MASN). That should mean he’ll return to play significantly sooner than he otherwise would. Senzel, 28, is no longer the top prospect he once was, but the Nationals were counting on him to keep third base warm this season on a one-year deal. Trey Lipscomb, 23, has done good work covering the hot corner over the past two days – he hit his first big league home run this afternoon – but presumably, the Nationals would rather the youngster get a little more seasoning in Triple-A. He was supposed to start there this season before Senzel’s injury rushed him to the show.
  • Mets right-hander Tylor Megill left his start early on Sunday, pitching just four innings against the Brewers. After the game, bench coach John Gibbons told reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post) that Megill’s shoulder felt tender and he would need an MRI. Shoulder pain is particularly troubling for Megill, who spent three months on the IL in 2022 with a shoulder strain. Thus, the Mets will hope the MRI doesn’t reveal any serious damage. New York is already thin on starting pitching: Kodai Senga is nursing a shoulder injury of his own, while David Peterson will be out until late May after offseason hip surgery. Finally, Max Kranick, whom the Mets picked up as additional starting depth this winter, is on the IL with a hamstring strain.

Nationals Place Nick Senzel On 10-Day IL, Select Trey Lipscomb

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TODAY: The Nationals announced Lipscomb’s selection, and Senzel was officially placed on the 10-day IL with a right thumb fracture.

MARCH 28: The Nationals are planning to select infielder Trey Lipscomb, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. Lipscomb would replace Nick Senzel on the active roster; the third baseman broke his thumb in practice before Washington’s Opening Day game. As for the 40-man roster, Lipscomb can take Stephen Strasburg’s spot. The ailing veteran was placed on the 60-day IL earlier today, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN.

Drafted in the third round out of the University of Tennessee in 2022, Lipscomb made his way up to Double-A last season. He hit .284/.310/.438 with a 102 wRC+ in 80 games for the Harrisburg Senators. While he is primarily a third baseman, he has spent time at all four infield positions. He even began to practice as an outfielder this spring, per Golden.

In addition to flexing his defensive versatility, Lipscomb made a strong impression at the plate in big league camp, going 20-for-50 with five walks and only seven strikeouts. However, this spring, manager Davey Martinez told Zuckerman that Lipscomb would only make the roster out of camp if he was going to get regular playing time. Indeed, a few days later, the 23-year-old was reassigned to minor league camp.

However, it seems Lipscomb won’t have to wait long to make his MLB debut after all. Senzel was set to be Washington’s primary third baseman, and presumably, Lipscomb is being called up to fill that hole. The Nationals already have rookie Nasim Nuñez and veteran Ildemaro Vargas on the bench, but neither will stand in Lipscomb’s way if Martinez wants him playing every day. In fact, Zuckerman notes that Lipscomb is expected to be the starting third baseman for the Nationals on Saturday as they take on the Reds for game two of their season.

Nick Senzel Suffers Broken Thumb

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Nationals third baseman Nick Senzel suffered a broken thumb while fielding a ball prior to today’s game, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. It’s unclear how long the injury will keep him out but it’s likely to be at least a few weeks.

It’s an incredibly unfortunate development for a player who has generated such excitement but has been frequently beset by injuries. He was ready for a fresh start in 2024, with the Nationals planning to have him be their everyday third baseman, but he’ll instead be facing yet another injury setback.

Senzel, 29 in June, was selected by the Reds with the second overall pick in 2016 and was considered one of the top prospects in the league as he climbed the minor league ladder. But since he made his major league debut in 2019, he has made frequent trips to the injured list, having never played more than 110 games or taken more than 420 plate appearances in a season. He has undergone surgery to repair a torn finger tendon, to remove bone spurs from his elbow and to address to torn labrum in his shoulder. He’s also missed time due to an ankle sprain and knee injuries, one of them requiring arthroscopic surgery.

Around all those ailments, his performance has been underwhelming. He has hit .239/.302/.369 in his 1,366 major league plate appearances, which translates to a wRC+ of 77. He was non-tendered by the Reds after last year, then the Nats decided to take a chance on him, giving him a $2MM deal.

They were undoubtedly hoping that a change of scenery and some regular playing time could help him get back to the form that made him such a hyped-up prospect. Manager Dave Martinez said way back in December that the club was planning to install him as an everyday third baseman, showing a great deal of faith in Senzel. But instead, he’s now facing yet another injury absence.

For as long as he’s out, the Nats will have to come up with other options. Utility player Ildemaro Vargas is on the roster and could perhaps step in for a time. Jake Alu is also on the 40-man roster and can play multiple positions. Carter Kieboom, like Senzel, is a former first-round pick with a diminished stock in recent years. He’s out of options and was outrighted off the roster a couple of weeks ago. Trey Lipscomb had a hot spring but isn’t on the 40-man either.

How the club proceeds may depend on how long Senzel is expected to be out. But for now, it’s not the start to the 2024 season that Senzel or the Nationals were hoping for.

Nationals Plan To Use Nick Senzel As Primary Third Baseman

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The Nationals made their one-year deal with former No. 2 overall draft pick Nick Senzel official yesterday, and the club is envisioning a prominent role for the 28-year-old. Senzel himself tells reporters that manager Dave Martinez told him the expectation is that he’ll play third base every day in 2024 (link via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com).

At the time he agreed to his one-year, $2MM pact with Washington, it was reasonable enough to expect that Senzel might bounce around the diamond, as he’d done throughout his time in Cincinnati. The Reds began Senzel’s development as a third baseman but began playing him at other positions before long. Eugenio Suarez was locked in as the Reds’ third baseman, and after he turned in a 34-homer, All-Star campaign in 2018, Senzel wound up serving as Cincinnati’s primary center fielder in 2019. Overall, Senzel played all three outfield spots, second base and third base in the big leagues during his time as a Red (plus some briefer looks at shortstop in the minors).

It seems the Nationals plan to give Senzel an opportunity he never fully received in Cincinnati: everyday reps at the hot corner. Part of that lack of opportunity in Cincinnati was due to the presence of other veterans (e.g. Suarez, Mike Moustakas). Part was due to a litany of injuries that derailed Senzel’s development. He missed time due to finger surgery (to repair a torn tendon), elbow surgery (to remove bone spurs), shoulder surgery (torn labrum), injuries to both knees (one of which required arthroscopic surgery) and an ankle sprain. If he can finally remain healthy and things go well, the Nats can control him through the 2025 season via arbitration.

Word of an everyday role for Senzel isn’t without impact elsewhere on Washington’s roster. The Nats have their own former top prospect whom they selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, just 24 picks after Senzel, in Carter Kieboom. The 26-year-old has appeared in parts of four big league seasons with the Nats but mustered only a .199/.297/.301 slash in 508 trips to the plate. Kieboom is now out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either make the Opening Day roster or else be traded or exposed to waivers before he can be sent down to the minors.

That puts Kieboom in an unenviable spot. Like Senzel, he’s been plagued by myriad injuries throughout his still relatively young career. Most notable is the infielder’s 2022 Tommy John surgery, but Kieboom has also missed time with a shoulder impingement and a wrist injury. That shoulder issue wiped out much of his 2023 season. Kieboom had surely hoped that a return to health would give him the opportunity to at last cement himself in the big leagues. In order to have the best chance at doing so, he’d need regular playing time that now does not appear to be in the cards. If he sticks with the Nats to open the season, he’ll face the tough task of trying to produce and earn a long-term spot through sporadic at-bats — likely being scattered between third base, designated hitter and perhaps at second base.

It’s also fair to question whether Kieboom is on the verge of running out of opportunities in D.C. altogether, though. His trade value isn’t anywhere near what it once was, but it’s still plausible that another club could take a look at him as a third base flier in a small trade or via a waiver claim. He still has four years of club control remaining.

Nationals Sign Dylan Floro To Major League Deal

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The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Dylan Floro to a one-year major league deal. They also announced their previously-reported pact with infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment. Per Jim Bowden of The Athletic, Floro will make $2.25MM plus incentives. Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays that Floro will get an extra $1.25MM if he pitches in 60 games next year.

Floro, 33 this month, has plenty of major league success but is coming off a frustrating 2023 campaign. From 2018 to 2022, he tossed 252 2/3 innings for the Reds, Dodgers and Marlins with an earned run average of 2.96 in that time. He struck out 21.6% of hitters faced, issued walks at a 7.6% clip and kept 50.9% of balls in play on the ground.

He was back with the Fish to start 2023 but had an earned run average of 4.54 through 39 2/3 innings. He was then traded to the Twins for another struggling reliever in Jorge López, with both clubs hoping for a change-of-scenery boost. But Floro posted a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings for Minnesota before getting released as the season was winding down.

There’s no denying that those results were less than ideal, but it’s possible that the baseball gods were responsible for them. Floro’s peripherals were still strong, as he struck out 23.4% of batters for the season as a whole, walked just 6.9% and got grounders at a strong 54.4% rate. But his .401 batting average on balls in play and 65.3% strand rate were both on the unlucky side of average. His 2.96 FIP and 3.34 SIERA suggest he may have been closer to his previous self than would appear on first glance. His 37.1% hard hit rate in 2023 was a career high but his 87.1 mph average exit velocity was actually lower than the year before.

The Nats are in rebuilding mode and aren’t expected to compete in 2024. They can give Floro a job in their bullpen and perhaps flip him to a contender at the deadline if he bounces back. This was a strategy the Nats deployed last season, signing Jeimer Candelario, Dominic Smith and Corey Dickerson to one-year deals. The deals for Smith and Dickerson didn’t work out, but Candelario bounced back nicely and was flipped to the Cubs at the deadline for two prospects.

Downs, 25, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox about a year ago. Once a highly-touted prospect, he was part of the package that the Sox received in the Mookie Betts trade. But his performance in the past few years diminished his stock significantly. He played in just six games for the Nats in 2023, spending most of the year either on optional assignment or the injured list. In 60 minor league games this year, he walked in 16.6% of his plate appearances but also hit just three home runs. His .222/.363/.356 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 91.

The Nats will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He still has one option year remaining and less than a year of service time. Given his past status as a top prospect, some club could put in a claim and wouldn’t even need to commit an active roster spot to him.

Nationals To Sign Nick Senzel

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The Nationals and infielder Nick Senzel have a one-year deal, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal reportedly guarantees Senzel $2MM with an additional $1MM available in performance bonuses.

Senzel, 28, was a highly-touted prospect early in his career, having been selected second overall by the Reds in the 2016 draft. By the time he made his major league debut back in 2019, Senzel was a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball. Unfortunately for both Senzel and the Reds, his career hasn’t lived up to that promise to this point. Senzel’s rookie campaign went fairly well, as the then-24-year-old adjusted to become the everyday center fielder in Cincinnati after spending his entire professional career to that point on the infield dirt. Senzel posted a decent .256/.315/.427 slash line in 414 trips to the plate that year, and entered the 2020 season with plenty of reason for optimism that better days would be ahead.

Unfortunately, Senzel struggled to stay healthy over the next two seasons, appearing in just 59 total games between the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. To make matters worse, Senzel posted brutal numbers at the plate when he was healthy enough to take the field, slashing a combined .227/.294/.332 in 202 trips to the plate. While Senzel was healthy enough to return to semi-regular playing time in 2022, his bat didn’t improve, as he posted a similar slash line of .231/.296/.306 across 110 games that season. Senzel’s offense improved slightly in 2023, as he slashed .236/.297/.399 with 13 home runs in 330 plate appearances while splitting time between second base, third base, and all three outfield spots.

That said, Senzel’s performance did not convince the Reds to tender him a contract worth a projected $3MM this offseason (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). Given the excess of young, controllable position player talent in Cincinnati, the club’s decision to part ways with Senzel was hardly a surprising one. Still, Senzel’s positional versatility makes him an intriguing bench option for teams in need of additional depth around the diamond. That’s particularly true of teams that struggle offensively against southpaws, as Senzel owns a career 108 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.

That’s a description that fits the Nationals, who hit a below-average .266/.323/.415 against lefties last season. In particular, Senzel could be a potential platoon partner for Luis Garcia, who slashed just .261/.273/.395 against same-handed pitching last season as the club’s everyday second baseman. While Senzel only played second base briefly in 2023, he also provides the Nationals with another option at third base, where they currently figure to rely on Carter Kieboom, as well as at all three outfield spots. Given Senzel’s relative youth and previous prospect pedigree, it’s a reasonable gamble for the Nationals, on the heels of a 91-loss season that saw them finish dead last in the NL East, to see if they can unlock another gear to the versatile lefty-masher’s game.

Five Non-Tendered Bats To Keep An Eye On This Offseason

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Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees club’s allow players under team control to head for the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. Last offseason saw one of the most notable non-tenders in recent memory as the Dodgers made the decision to part ways with Cody Bellinger. Bellinger, of course, went on to sign with the Cubs and post a resurgent season, slashing .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs en route to a top-10 finish in NL MVP voting. Bellinger’s strong season earned him the #2 spot on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents list this offseason, where we projected him for a twelve-year, $264MM deal.

A player of Bellinger’s caliber- a two-time All Star with MVP and Rookie of the Year awards under his belt- being non-tendered is exceptionally rare, and there’s little reason to believe that any of this offseason’s non-tendered players will reach those sort of heights in 2024. That being said, plenty of players wind up non-tendered and go on to have strong careers afterwards: Kyle Schwarber, Jeimer Candelario, Kevin Gausman, and Matt Strahm are among the players in recent memory who have gone on to find success as big league regulars following a non-tender.

With an unusually weak class of free agent hitters on tap for this offseason, teams figure to be more incentivized than ever to uncover a diamond in the rough in search of offensive upgrades this winter. Let’s take a look at five hitters who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the coming offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2024 season in parentheses.

Mike Ford (31)

Ford made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2019. He hit exceptionally well in a part-time role, slashing .259/.350/.559 (134 wRC+) with 12 homers in just 163 trips to the plate. Despite that strong performance, Ford would not clear 100 plate appearances in a season again until 2022, when he struggled through 50 games at the big league level while bouncing between the Braves, Angels, Mariners, and Giants. In 149 trips to the plate between the aforementioned four clubs, Ford hit a paltry .206/.302/.313 (81 wRC+). He received another big league opportunity in Seattle this season, however, and managed to make the most of it with a solid rebound campaign.

Upon being called up in early June, Ford played on a semi-regular basis with a solid .228/.323/.475 slash line with 16 home runs in 251 trips to the plate. Overall, that performance was good for a well above-average wRC+ of 123. Despite his successful season, the Mariners non-tendered Ford rather than offer him an arbitration-level contract that MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected would be worth $1.5MM. Still, Ford figures to be a cheap source of optionable left-handed power for a club with an opening at either first base or DH, and could prove to be a solid pickup for teams looking to boost their offense in 2024 who can afford to offer him at-bats.

Kyle Lewis (28)

After being selected eleventh-overall by the Mariners in the 2016 draft, Lewis began his big league career with a bang by slashing .268/.293/.592 with six home runs during an 18-game cup of coffee towards the end of the 2019 season. The strong initial performance earned Lewis an everyday role in center field during the shortened 2020 season. It was an opportunity Lewis made the most of as he slashed .262/.364/.437 (127 wRC+) while playing quality defense in center en route to an AL Rookie of the Year award.

Unfortunately, since have gone off the rails for Lewis since then. Knee injuries, a concussion, and illness have sidelined him much of the time since then, and he’s hit a paltry .203/.281/.342 in 70 MLB games when he has been able to take the field. That being said, Lewis hit exceptionally well at the Triple-A level for the Diamondbacks this year, with a .371/.457/.641 slash line in 293 trips to the plate. That performance wasn’t enough to convince Arizona to spend a projected $1.61MM on Lewis’s services in arbitration this year, but it’s certainly possible it signals that Lewis could return to being an above-average regular in the big leagues if he can stay healthy long enough to find an extended opportunity.

Nick Senzel (29)

Senzel was the second overall pick in the 2016 draft and made his big league debut with the Reds back in 2019. He performed acceptably in his rookie season, adjusting on the fly to become the club’s regular center fielder after spending his entire professional career prior to 2019 on the infield dirt. Still, his bat left something to be desired as he slashed just .256/.315/.427, good for a wRC+ of 87. Senzel struggled to stay healthy following the 2019 campaign, however, appearing in just 59 games over the next two seasons. He returned to semi-regular playing time in 2021, but struggled badly at the plate with a weak slash line of just .231/.296/.306 in 420 trips to the plate.

Though his offense improved slightly in 2023 as he slashed .236/.297/.399 with 13 home runs in 330 plate appearances as he split time between second base, third base, and all three outfield spots, that performance did not convince the Reds to tender him a contract worth a projected $3MM this offseason. Senzel’s non-tender was hardly a surprise given Cincinnati’s excess of positional talent and his recent struggles. That said, it’s easy to see Senzel being a valuable piece of a club’s bench mix in 2024 given his versatility and career .287/.334/.460 slash line against southpaws and it’s certainly feasible a player of his prospect pedigree could take a step forward if allotted regular playing time.

Jacob Stallings (34)

By far the oldest player on this list, Stallings is a veteran of eight MLB seasons and first joined the Pirates organization as a seventh-round pick all the way back in 2012. After struggling to catch on in a regular role early in his career, Stallings became the regular catcher in Pittsburgh during the 2019 season and spent the next three years as a quality regular behind the plate, slashing a decent .251/.331/.374 (89 wRC+) while playing excellent defense behind the plate that earned him a Gold Glove award in 2021. Unfortunately, Stallings’s career took a turn for the worse upon being traded to Miami. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed just .210/.287/.290 in 203 games as his defensive metrics have collapsed behind the plate. Those struggles made it an easy decision for the Marlins to non-tender Stallings rather than offer him a contract that projected to be worth $3.6MM for the 2024 season.

Stallings is perhaps the least likely on this list to be a productive regular in 2024. After all, he’s been well below average on both sides of the ball the past two seasons and is entering his mid-thirties. That being said, He’s just two seasons removed from a 2.5 fWAR campaign that saw him post slightly better offensive numbers than the average catcher while being among the strongest defenders behind the plate in the league. Given the constant need for catching depth around the game, it seems likely Stallings will be afforded plenty of opportunity to recapture his old form as a solid two-way catcher, and he’d only need to find success at one or the other to be a solid backup option.

Juan Yepez (26)

Perhaps the most unusual entrant on this list, Yepez was non-tendered by the Cardinals last week despite not yet being eligible for arbitration. Yepez made his big league debut as a 24-year-old during the 2022 season, and made a solid impression during his rookie campaign. Though he was blocked at his native position of first base by Paul Goldschmidt, Yepez split time between DH and all four corner spots while slashing a solid .253/.296/.447 with 12 home runs in 274 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, Yepez struggled badly in his sophomore season, slashing just .183/.246/.300 in his 65 trips to the plate in the majors this year. His time in Triple-A didn’t go much better, as he posted a mediocre slash line of .255/.323/.414 in 86 games at the level.

While that down season led the Cardinals to part ways with Yepez to clear room on the 40-man roster, it’s worth noting that Yepez was blocked by an already-crowded Cardinals outfield mix at the big league level. Given his limited opportunities at the big league level to this point in his career, his relative youth, and a career .273/.349/.515 slash line at the Triple-A level, it’s easy to see how Yepez could be the latest late-career breakout candidate to emerge from St. Louis, not unlike Adolis Garcia, Luke Voit, and Patrick Wisdom before him.

Reds PBO Nick Krall Downplays Idea Of A Jonathan India Trade

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Because the Reds are loaded with up-and-coming young infield talent, Jonathan India has been seen a logical trade candidate since prior to summer’s trade deadline, and it is widely considered possible or even probable that the former NL Rookie of the Year could be moved this winter.  However, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall threw some cold water on the concept of an India trade when speaking with Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters Friday, saying “I wouldn’t say we are motivated.  If a deal comes around, we have to be open to anything.  But just motivated to move players off your roster just because ’that guy might not fit (a specific spot).’  That doesn’t make any sense.”

Naturally, some gamesmanship could be at work here.  Openly admitting that India was being shopped would do nothing for the Reds’ leverage in trade talks, and it might not play well within the Cincinnati clubhouse since India is a beloved team leader.  Krall’s “open to anything” stance in regards is common within front offices around baseball since you never know when a rival team might unexpectedly make a big offer, yet while he didn’t close the door on India being dealt, Krall also made several logical points about why the Reds would want to retain the second baseman’s services.

For one, it wasn’t long ago that India was seen as a key member of Cincinnati’s rebuild, after capturing NL ROY honors in 2021.  He has since been hampered by hamstring problems in 2022 and then a bout of plantar fasciitis in 2023, limiting him to 222 of a possible 324 games and an uninspiring .246/.333/.394 slash line over 960 plate appearances.  That works out to a 98 wRC+ over the last two seasons, and 1.7 fWAR total when also factoring in India’s subpar defensive numbers at second base.

While the emergence of Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand has led to a crowded state in the Cincinnati infield, Krall disagreed with the concept that his team necessarily even has a surplus.

“You look at our club, and I think most guys were injured at some point last year.  So if you have a deep bench of guys that can play every day, that’s not a fault in our roster.  That’s a good thing,” Krall said.  “I would welcome that, to have guys who have experience to be able to play multiple positions, to be able to step into a spot and be a good player….[India is] a first-time arbitration-eligible player; we’ve got him under control for three more seasons.  He fits our club.  He fits our group.”

“If you said, ’Hey, you’ve got guys coming behind him or you’ve got guys that are pushing him out or that he doesn’t have a spot to play,’ that’s one thing.  But he does have a spot to play here.  There are at-bats here.  Are they going to be 650, 700 plate appearances in a season?  No, but that also gives you the ability to give guys days off and keep guys fresh and healthy throughout the course of the year.”

Krall isn’t wrong in extolling the benefits of depth, to say nothing of the fact that Steer (who debuted in 2022) is the only member of the younger group who has any big league experience prior to 2023.  In the event of an injury or even just a sophomore slump from one or two members of the prospect core, and suddenly the Reds might go from a surplus to a bit of a shortage of reliable infield possibilities.  That being said, if depth is what the Reds want, they could also look to add another infielder for more of a clear backup role, while trading India for help elsewhere on the roster.

While India’s fate is yet to be determined, the Reds did part ways with one infielder yesterday when Nick Senzel wasn’t tendered a contract before the Friday evening tender deadline.  Krall told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters that the Reds first explored trading Senzel, saying “we talked to a handful of teams and obviously didn’t find the interest to move him.  So we decided this was probably best for our organization, to move on and let him find a place where he can play every day.”

Moreso than the $3MM salary Senzel was projected to earn in arbitration, the Senzel decision ultimately down to a roster crunch.  As Krall put it, “we’ve got seven infielders still on the 40-man.  We looked at where Senzel was and it was a little bit of, ’How does all this work?’ ”

It seems quite likely that Senzel will land a guaranteed contract with another team, and perhaps might yet be a late bloomer with a change of scenery heading into his age-29 season.  Debuting in 2019 as one of baseball’s top prospects, Senzel has a modest .239/.302/.369 slash line over 1366 career plate appearances.  Health problems and a number of positional changes have marked Senzel’s career, which Krall acknowledged in making the tough non-tender choice.

Reds To Non-Tender Nick Senzel

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The Reds are non-tendering Nick Senzel, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The former #2 overall pick had posted a farewell message to the organization on Instagram this evening.

Cincinnati selected the Tennessee product with the second pick in the 2016 draft. The right-handed hitter posted strong minor league numbers and was a consensus top prospect preceding his 2019 debut. Senzel never found consistent success against big league pitchers, though. Over parts of five seasons, he owns a .239/.302/.369 batting line.

Senzel spent the 2022 campaign as the Reds primary center fielder. Cincinnati hoped that a move back to his natural third base position would help him find another level offensively. While Senzel started the year hitting well, particularly against left-handed pitching, he encountered a slump in June. He finished the season with a .236/.297/.399 line with 13 homers across 330 MLB plate appearances.

The Reds briefly sent Senzel back to Triple-A in the second half. He finished the year in the majors but always seemed a likely non-tender. The Reds have a number of talented younger infield options, with Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte taking a lot of reps on the left side. That didn’t leave much room for Senzel, whom MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected for a $3MM salary if tendered a contract.

A non-tender sends a player directly to free agency without being placed on waivers. The 28-year-old can now explore opportunities with other teams. Senzel’s status as a former top prospect and career .286/.334/.459 line with the platoon advantage could find him a big league deal elsewhere. The Nationals, A’s, Royals, Diamondbacks and Tigers stand out as speculative candidates for a flier on a third baseman.

NL Central Notes: Ashby, Fulmer, Senzel, Zuniga, Naile

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Aaron Ashby underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder back in April, which threatened to keep the Brewers southpaw out of action for the entirety of the 2023 season.  However, Ashby is set to hit an important checkpoint in his recovery, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes that Ashby will throw a live bullpen session this week, and possibly be in line to start a minor league rehab assignment next weekend.  The rehab assignment is likely to be pretty lengthy given Ashby’s long layoff, though since he’ll almost certainly be brought back as a reliever, he won’t need quite as much work in rebuilding his arm strength.

Moving to a bullpen role will help Ashby’s chances of pitching before the season is over, and it potentially gives Milwaukee an intriguing relief weapon down the stretch.  Ashby has worked as both a starter and reliever over his first two MLB seasons, posting a 4.47 ERA, 57.8% grounder rate, 27.1% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate over 139 innings in the big leagues.  The Brewers were impressed enough to lock Ashby up to a five-year contract extension last year, and while the lefty is a big part of Milwaukee’s future, the Brew Crew also hope he can contribute to their present push for the division title and some October success.

Other items from around the NL Central…

  • The Reds explored trading Nick Senzel prior to the deadline but couldn’t find a deal, and thus Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks Senzel might not be tendered a contract this winter.  Senzel is arbitration-eligible for a second time and wouldn’t be hugely expensive to retain (he has a $1.95MM salary in 2023), but the larger issue is that the Reds seem to have moved on from the former top prospect in favor of their new crop of standout youngsters.  Injuries have plagued Senzel throughout his career, and he has hit only .236/.301/.364 over 1307 career MLB plate appearances since debuting during the 2019 season.  The Reds even demoted Senzel to the minors two weeks ago before recalling him again when Joey Votto went on the IL.  In regards to his future in Cincinnati, Senzel said he is just focused on trying to help the team win, and that “I’m not going to be pessimistic about any situation.  I’m optimistic wherever the game takes me.”
  • The Cubs placed Michael Fulmer on the 15-day IL yesterday due to a forearm strain, a particularly concerning injury for a pitcher with a lengthy history of arm problems.  Manager David Ross and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy spoke with reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times) about Fulmer’s injury, saying that he had been trying to pitch through discomfort, with the team trying to accommodate the issue with some extra rest in between bullpen outings.  “It wasn’t something we were like, ’Oh my gosh, if we pitch him, we’re in trouble.’  It was stuff we were monitoring,” Hottovy said.  “It’s no different than what we do with a lot of guys.  But he’s been grinding for a few weeks.”  Fulmer will undergo tests on his forearm, but the hope is that some extended rest in the form of an IL stint can get him back onto the mound soon.
  • Speaking of forearm injuries, the Cardinals placed right-hander Guillermo Zuniga on the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain of his own.  The placement is retroactive to August 25, and right-hander James Naile was called up from Triple-A Memphis to take Zuniga’s roster spot.  Zuniga has been up and down from Memphis a few times this season, and he also spent time on the minor league IL in June.  The hard-throwing righty has thrown two innings over two appearances for St. Louis, which marks the first Major League experience of Zuniga’s career.
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