On Saturday night in the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers game Nick Senzel had one of the more unlucky foul balls you are going go see in your lifetime. He fouled the ball down and off of the ground right in front of his foot. The ball then bounced directly upward and hit him in the face, right on the eye. He immediately grabbed his face and began walking towards the Reds dugout. The trainer, Steve Baumann came to check on him and after taking a look at it, Senzel and Baumann left the field and headed to the clubhouse.
The Cincinnati Reds center fielder would need stitches just above his eye. After the game manager David Bell talked with the media (video below), but noted that he wasn’t sure how long Nick Senzel would miss.
He’s fine. He had a few stitches. So as soon as the swelling goes down he’s going to be fine. His eye is fine. We’ll see, it just depends how quick the swelling goes down. We’ll have to see in the morning. Nothing serious, fortunately he closed his eye in time.
If Nick Senzel can’t play due to the swelling, the Reds have a few options in center. They recalled Phillip Ervin from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday and he’s got plenty of experience playing center. Jose Peraza has also spent time in center field for the Reds in the past. If they wanted to get wild, reliever Michael Lorenzen could step in and play center, though given how much they’ve used him as a non-pitcher this year, that would be a rather big surprise.