Nick Senzel was hitting well through the month of July. The rookie saw a line of .285/.346/.475 next to his name when August began. But he struggled during August, and shortly into September his season would come to an end as he opted for shoulder surgery after having a tear in his labrum. Senzel would later note that his shoulder had been an issue for a while, which is interesting given that at the time it was believed to have only been an issue caused by the collision with the wall in St. Louis at the end of August.
Regardless of the timeline and the length of the injury before deciding on surgery, Nick Senzel did have the surgery. And since the time of the surgery, it’s been stated that the Reds center fielder would be ready for spring training. Senzel, as well as President of Baseball Operations Dick Williams have both noted earlier this offseason that he would be cleared to resume baseball activities in January. If you have a calendar handy, check it – it’s January. And today, Nick Senzel began throwing a baseball for the first time since he had his surgery in September.
Pitchers and catchers officially report in less than one month (February 13th). The position players are scheduled to report a few days later (February 16th). And the first game of the spring will be just a handful of days after that, as the Reds will take on the Indians on Saturday February 22nd. Of course, Senzel is already in Goodyear working on his rehab. It looks like he’s at the Reds facility in the video he posted above.
We’ll certainly need him at 100% from the start. Buster Olney released his top 10 list of the best MLB teams for 2020. He had the hated Cardinals at #9 (and hinted might go higher if they land Arenado). And in best of the rest he mentions both the Cubs and the Brewers but no mention of our Reds at all! Just goes to show we’re not going to get any respect until we prove we’re better. And we may not be much better unless we make another move or two.
I think the reds would like to trade Senzel for a SS actually. It’s looking like they might get Ozuna on a cheaper deal than thought. Then they could trade both Senzel and Winker. Actually I think they need to trade Winker anyway. Love the bat but we have lots of LH hitter only guys. He is an American League guy I think.
Reflecting on the blowback from Astros cheating- I’m seriously disappointed in guys like Altuve, Bregaman, Springer, and especially Correa, who went out of his way to trash Fiers in recent interviews. These guys are all clearly gifted ball players, but what a huge letdown. Glad the Astros/Reds trade propositions were just rumors
*Bregman
Reinstate Pete Rose immediately. Hinch gets one year, Pete gets life? It’s so disproportionate it makes my head spin. The Astros stole signs on every pitch for every home game plus the world series……..words fail. Hinch/Cora/Beltran should get what Pete got. The players who participated in this conspiracy should get what Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox got unless the team sends the world series trophy to the Dodgers…….same for the Red Sox in 2018.
Pete Rose should never, ever be allowed back in the game of baseball. What he did was far worse. And we’ve found out even worse things since he accepted his ban.
The Astros got off light. That doesn’t change that Pete Rose should never, ever be allowed back in the game of baseball.
I absolutely agree. And I actually have tons of sympathy for the Dodgers, robbed twice by cheaters who potentially wouldn’t have even made it to the WS. Poor A’s too, putting together strong teams on a shoestring budget, but facing a cheating division rival. Makes the insane winning records worthless.
Hopefully someone will compile a highlight reel of every arrogant boast and brag from Bregman, Correa etc, and let it go viral. make sure these guys don’t get to live it down. Hopefully MLB pokes some fun too with their Cut4 blog- but they won’t, I’m sure, because they still view these guys as bankable, marketable stars. Springer in arbitration asking for 27.5 million bucks?! Insanity.
I guess this does raise a kinda interesting question, of whether MLB should continue marketing and pushing some of these players as the face of baseball. Their stats and stature are totally skewed, though we’ll never know by how much. Seems lame to shun Bonds or McGwire and continue championing a guy like Altuve or Bregman.
Doug, I agree yet.
Shoeless Joe, was up for the HOF, but no elected.
The Pete Rose rule, is what I have issue with.
If Shoeless Joe, who was much worse (He accepted money for this travesty), was allowed to be in the hall, but not elected, why Pete?
Again, he was banned for life and I agree with that.
Why? Because the Hall of Fame decided players ineligible for baseball are also ineligible for the Hall of Fame.
Betting on baseball games while being in the game is a breach in the very basis of the game itself – not the same as trying to gain an illegal advantage. MLB has every right to protect that basis of the competitive game more aggressively than those who cheat otherwise. And if MLB ever rescinded the lifetime ban for gambling, they would be remiss if they didn’t then examine all the other things he was doing at that time – and since – that deserve punishment, an examination that would just make both Pete and MLB look worse in the eyes of the public. MLB is smart to let it all lie dormant.
I agree that Rose shouldn’t be in baseball. Frankly, the stuff that’s come to light in recent years is horrific. I’ve met Pete in the past and always had nice conversations with him. I’ll never speak to him again.
It’s sickening considering what he meant to generations of kids in Cincinnati. I was an undersized center and middle linebacker on my high school football team. But, I learned to hustle and work my tail off like Pete. I’m guessing a lot of athletes from Cincinnati were impacted the same way by how Pete played the game.
I always thought the HoF did a disservice to the people of Cincinnati by changing the rules to keep him out of the Hall — his performance as a player earned it.
But, I don’t want him around the game. In fact, it was a sad day, but when his most recent issues came to light, I took my Pete Rose signed baseball, that had been on my desk my entire career, and tossed it into the waste basket. Frankly, I could forgive him for gambling
One day we need to fully understand what Pete’s dad did to him to make him both the ballplayer he was and to completely screwed him up in every other aspect of his life. Rose seems to have some sort of OCD or other mental illness and it seems like a lot of it was created by his dad.
I think his ban should be amended to just being banned from taking an official position with a MLB team. Unbanned from anything else, including HOF consideration. Let the voters decide.
As for the Astros debacle, from what’s known now, they deserve all the punishment and ridicule they get, and the Red Sox should be very worried about Joey Cora. But there undoubtedly were other teams out there using tech to steal signs and the former players that work on MLB TV, “stated that last night”. Those teams should count them selves lucky if they are not fingered in any investigation, and these punishments will hopefully put a stop to this now and in the future, for the integrity of the game.
Hope Senzel goes back to his original hitting approach. If his shoulder was hurting for awhile, it might be the result of his transition to centerfield…may be trying to throw like an infielder.
Not happening with the signing of Moustakas.
I’m hopeful that all of the Reds go back to their old hitting approach. It was mostly their hitting that got them and kept them in the big leagues.
All of the tinkering and suggestions from the previous hitting coaches really messed them up. Hopefully, the new coaches will let the hitters be and support their way of hitting.
This is your first post, so we’re just going to edit it. But there’s no cursing here. This will, however, be your only warning.
I still think at this point in their careers Senzel and Winker are “icing on the cake” guys, not “bread and butter” players for the reds yet. whatever we get from them in 2020 will help but we can’t yet rely on them to be everyday producers.
It appears with each passing day Galvis will be our starting shortop. maybe Senzel can get some reps this spring and be a back up ss to him snd split time with Shogo in center.
sign Puig to be our right fielder and let Ervin, Winker and Aquino battle it out for left field.
sign a copule of relievers and lets go to battle!
He an
How long before Green could be shortstop ready?
Aquino is a right fielder. He has a gun for an arm, and runs well. He is a good outfielder.
The question that most fans have is will he be able to hit consistently in the Majors.
Power hitters are streaky. Hot and cold. If he (Aquino) starts out “hot”, then he keeps his job. If he starts out cold (like Puig did last year) then the fans will clamor for him to sit or be sent down to AAA.
Winker on the other hand, is a pretty good (proven) hitter, but a crummy outfielder. I just hope he can go through a season without getting hurt again, as he seems to be injury prone.
Center field is the plan. He’s not blocked. There’s a very good reason that every single time anyone has asked the Reds manager, General Manager, or President of Baseball Operations about Shogo Akiyama and where he would play, they’ve said everywhere in the outfield. Senzel is the center fielder. That’s the plan.
And that should be the plan. Senzel has a very good chance to become an elite CFr. You don’t undercut that as an organization.
Elite CFrs are as rare as elite catchers. Senzel needs to start “every day” in CF.
BTW Doug, just a heads up: the article on Lodolo on your sister site does not seem to load properly.
Thank you for all that you do. You are a real lifeline to those that live far from Ohio, or those who can’t attend or watch games due to financial or other reasons.
Air JJ, I agree that keeping Senzel is a great decision (assuming it’s a final decision). I fully expect that both Senzel and Winker will have extremely productive years. The starting OF, however, should be Winker in LF, Senzel in CF, and a platoon of Akiyama and Aquino in RF.
Senzel provides the most value to the Reds as a heavy hitting CFr, something most teams do not have. Now that he has made a successful conversion to CF, where his elite speed helps his play, Senzel should man CF for years to come. If the wear and tear of CF takes its toil over the years, or when he reaches his early to mid 30s, he can transition back to 2B.
There were questions before the Shogo signing as to whether Akiyama could stick in CF in MLB. Shogo and Aquino should battle it out in ST to determine who will initially get more playing time in a RF platoon. Aquino needs ample time to show whether he will sink or swim. SA can also spell Senzel in CF when he needs a day off.