After several days of being unable to play the Cincinnati Reds have decided to place first baseman Joey Votto on the injured list with back tightness. They’ve called up Brian O’Grady from Triple-A Louisville to replace him on the roster.
For Joey Votto, he’s been dealing with tightness in his back for several days now. He noted to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer earlier today that he had not even swung a bat since he was scratched from the lineup on Thursday.
With Amir Garrett still serving his suspension, the Reds were already playing short-handed on their roster. Jesse Winker has also been unavailable to start for the past few days, though he was able to pinch hit according to manager David Bell for the last few days. Eugenio Suarez was also unavailable for a day after injuring his finger. But he’s back in the lineup today.
Brian O’Grady spent a week in the Major Leagues earlier this month. He went 1-5 with a strikeout in his time with Cincinnati before being sent back to Triple-A on August 13th. The left-handed hitter is back. He has hit .273/.352/.552 with 27 doubles, a triple, 27 home runs, and 17 steals in 103 games this season for Louisville. He can provide help at several spots on the field – capable of handling first base, left field, right field, and even center field if you need him to. Off of the bench as an offensive guy, he can provide a thread of pop and could be used as a pinch runner.
See him in spring training ready to roll…be best thing.
He’s 35. At this point, as sad as it is, there probably is not “done with ailments” at this point in his career
I hope O’Grady gets a series of starts at 1B to see what he can do.