The Cincinnati Reds have called up shortstop Jose Garcia according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. He also notes that Garcia will be starting tonight at shortstop for the Reds. The Reds have him hitting 8th in the lineup tonight as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers.
When this road trip began, Jose Garcia was not even on the taxi squad. Two days ago, though, he was added and joined the team in Milwaukee. It was the first time this season that he has been on the road with the team – otherwise he had been playing at Prasco Park as a part of the alternate roster.
This spring saw Jose Garcia gain a lot of traction as he went on a tear early on in spring training. He led the team in home runs with four when spring training came to an end. The shortstop entered the season rated as the teams #4 prospect, behind Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Tyler Stephenson.
The quick scouting report on Jose Garcia is that of a shortstop with a big arm, good range, good athleticism – all the tools to be an above-average defender. Offensively, he’s got above-average raw power, though he had not yet tapped fully into his game power during the 2019 season – at least when it came to homers. Garcia led the Florida State League in doubles in 2019 despite missing the first three weeks of the season. His plate approach has continued to improve since signing in 2017. He’s never walked much, but he’s improved his eye and what he’s chosen to swing at. I’ve been yelling for nearly two years now that Garcia was the most underrated prospect in baseball among known prospects. Time to find out.
To make room on the roster, the Reds made two other moves on the day. To create a spot on the 40-man roster the team activated Pedro Strop and then designated him for assignment. He had been on the 10-day injured list. That didn’t create a spot on the 28-man roster, though. For that spot the team sent outfielder Travis Jankowski to the taxi squad (taking the spot vacated by Garcia).
Must see TV. I’m watching the young SS.
This move is great, the Reds need to find some offense other than Castellanos and Winker.
Also, is batting Votto leadoff that bad when no one else on the team is doing much better?
OK now. This is a move that can make a difference. Placing Garcia in the lineup and Galvis to the bench might be a nice spark. Garcia is a RH hitter and could/can hit in the upper half of the lineup if Bell was to be so bold.
Never got enamored with Strop anyway. Former Cub. He joins Reed on the DFA pile.
Too bad for Jankowski but he wasn’t getting even sporadic time to play.
The Reds have 30 some games to go to see what Garcia can do. I would think this is a precursor of a trade of Galvis or a soon-to-be DFA. It would be beyond frustrating if Galvis still gets most of the starts at SS. This can’t be allowed to happen.
Galvis to 2nd base. Moose at 1st tonight
Unless Garcia is completely overmatched, he should start the rest of the season.
The purge has begun. Stephenson will be the next guy up. Then Aquino, hopefully. Of course, we could go on a 7 game winning streak like the Giants and get back in it.
Lineup per the Reds site:
Shogo – CF
Castellanos – RF
Winker – DH
Suarez – 3B
Moose – 1B
Galvis – 2B
Payton – LF
Garcia – SS
Barnhart – C
OK, we asked for some changes … let’s see how this unfolds.
Pedro Strop DFA? He was the only effort the team made to shore up the relief staff in the off season. Not a top notch pitcher but a veteran who was good enough to stay with the Cubs the previous 7 years. He has only pitched 2.1 innings for the Reds. Now, unless this is some kind of cat and mouse maneuver I’m not familiar with, it seems like going DFA is usually a strong hint the team wants to get rid of you. Boy, the David Bell method gets more baffling by the day.