On Monday afternoon Cincinnati Reds general manager Nick Krall spoke with the media before the team heads out to Goodyear, Arizona to begin spring training. There were more than a few topics discussed, and some were more important than others. Here’s what he had to say:
On the signing of reliever Sean Doolittle and what drew the team towards him:
“Sean’s been a good closer in the big leagues for a long time,” said Krall. “For us, he comes in with a track record of doing that. He got hurt last year, struggled at the beginning of last year. He came back and pitched well at the end of last season. But I think we’re going to come in and be open minded to how we could use everybody and be open minded to what guys can do.”
“Sean’s been a very quality major league reliever for a long time. Good veteran presence in the clubhouse. We feel he’ll fit in really well with this group of guys and he’s got a chance to pitch in the back of this bullpen, that’s first and foremost.”
On the signing of Dee Strange-Gordon:
“We’ve got a handful of guys competing for the shortstop position at this point,” Krall said. “Dee hasn’t really played there consistently since 2013, so he’s going to come in and compete for a utility role. Probably get some shots at shortstop and see where he is there, but he’s probably going to play all over the field as well.”
This would seem to suggest that shortstop isn’t a spot that Dee Strange-Gordon is likely to get much time at and that he’s not really being looked at as a possibility for the starting shortstop spot on the team. But if you wanted more to back up that assertion, see the next quote about the shortstop position as it stands.
The shortstop position and how it looks right now:
“Kyle Farmer was a solid shortstop,” said Krall. “He did a good job, especially hitting left-handed pitching last year. Kyle Holder’s a guy who, left handed hitter, plays good defense. I think we’re going to do what we can with that group, and they’re going to compete for that spot and that’s who we have right now. I do believe in those guys. Jose Garcia’s got a lot of tools, and really can make a difference. It’s just making sure he puts everything together and becomes the player he needs to be.”
Who is heading to Goodyear prepared to be a starting pitcher:
“Right now it’s Luis (Castillo), Sonny (Gray), and Tyler Mahle are probably the first three starters,” said Krall. “Then you’ve got Wade Miley who’s been a starter his whole career, Michael Lorenzen, Tejay Antone, José De León , Jeff Hoffman are probably the guys you’re looking at that come in to compete for those last couple of spots. That’s probably where we are right now.”
This is interesting. Many of us, myself included, seem to have assumed that Wade Miley would have had the 4th spot in the rotation locked up if he was healthy and didn’t have just a disastrous spring training. Krall, though, seems to have him lumped in with Lorenzen, Antone, De León, and Hoffman as competing for one of the final two spots. There’s nothing wrong with that – give those spots to the two best guys. But it is a bit surprising, at least to me, that he’s not seemingly as locked into that 4th spot.
Lucas Sims and Brandon Bailey are a bit behind other pitchers:
“Sims is a little delayed with where he is,” said Krall. “Brandon Bailey is probably the one who is delayed, but we’re expecting everyone to be healthy at some point in spring training. (Sims) had some elbow tightness this offseason.”
Lucas Sims was sure to clarify, via twitter, that “it was precautionary and I’ll be ready for opening day. All good!”
Negotiating and talking with Trevor Bauer in the offseason:
“We talked with him throughout the offseason to keep tabs on him,” Krall said. “We weren’t in that range and we kind of knew it sooner rather than later. We did keep tabs to kind of see where it went. You never know what’s going to happen throughout the offseason.”
Still unsure on all of the spring training protocols with regards to player numbers:
“I think right now we’ve got 65-66 guys that are penciled into camp with regards to Major League/Minor League camp and what we’re trying to do and we’re still trying to work through that with the protocols coming,” said Krall. “With that said we’re trying to figure out if we can add more quality guys to this camp and more quality guys to this mix and see what happens.”
“Right now we’ve got some guys that we’re bringing in that we are waiting to get the protocols before we determine exactly how many and who, but yeah, we’re going to have some prospects in camp as well. I do not know the cap and it’s a lot of hearsay on what the cap is going to be. So we’re just planning on where the group is for right now. And if we add or subtract we’re going to have to go from there.”
This is interesting to read. Spring training starts in a week-and-a-half when pitchers and catchers report but teams still don’t quite know how many players can be in camp due to the health and safety protocols that are going to be set. While we are going to be getting a full season in 2021 as opposed to 2020, we are still going to have some weird aspects of the game this year.
We’ve seen that minor league spring training is going to be delayed due to this. Sort of, at least. You’ll note that Krall said Major League/Minor League camp in his quote above. Last reported, Triple-A and Major League Baseball would have a camp that followed the same timeline. That allows the team at the big league level have backups ready to go in case of injury/performance issues early in the season. But the Double-A, Advanced-A, and Low-A levels aren’t expected to begin spring training until the Major League and Triple-A spring training is over. That will set up a situation where there are fewer people at the facility at once, allowing for there to be easier following of protocols and lessen the chance of any team spread of COVID-19.
A more accurate response to “The shortstop position and how it looks right now:”
“We’ve basically got table scraps at that position,” said Krall.
The best option isn’t even a shortstop. They need to give Nick Senzel a shot at the position.
Great thought by D.B! Nick K.used his usual”smoke and mirrors”trick to have us believe he was gonna sign a top-flite SS,we all knew Better!!
They already gave Senzel his shot at SS.
HE’S NOT A SHORTSTOP!
Kinda agree w/ armbrister below on Senzel & SS. This kid was drafted to b the type of hitter Reds need, but Reds merry go round position changes have him all screwed up IMHO. I don’t think he’s a CF either & that position is likely to keep him on DL & under Performing at the plate
“But I think we’re going to come in and be open minded to how we could use everybody and be open minded to what guys can do.”
The silver lining in trading Iglesias and may be more flexibility in how the bullpen is used and not having rigid roles.
Maybe more bullpen
I really like this approach. I’m not totally anti-closer, but I would like to see more bullpen pitchers used for more than one inning. I believe this would result in fewer games pitched and fewer bullpen warm-ups. To execute this approach, you really need 2-3 pitchers with the ability to closeout a ballgame. This approach would allow the manager to present different looks to opposing teams each night of a 3-game series. Garrett, Sims, Lorenzen and Antoine all prepped in the minors as starters and should have little problem transitioning to a schedule where the throw every third or fourth day, but for up to 3 innings (perhaps 2 on most nights). The other five bullpen arms would be used to bridge between the starter and team of closers.
Kyle Farmer had a wRC+ of 145 vs LHP in 2020 … in 26 total plate appearances.
“I think we’re going to do what we can with that group, and they’re going to compete for that spot and that’s who we have right now.”
This is speculation, which is what we do here, especially in the off-season:
The Reds either had no plans to be aggressive landing a SS
or
The Reds badly miscalculated on any good SS “falling to them”
Amed Rosario from the Indians would look like Derek Jeter compared to what Krall is selling at the moment.
As I wrote yesterday … I am embarrassed for the Reds front office, especially Krall. That GM salary doesn’t compensate for MLB and fans saying, “What are you doing?”
Like I’ve said all winter, they were just kicking the tires hoping for a bargain. I dont remember who said it months ago but they said Farmer would be the starter . What a joke.
I never had any hope that they would land one of the big names but I thought Rosario would be the one. I remember too the guy that predicted long ago that Farmer would be the opening day starter. I thought that the Reds talking to everyone on offer for seemingly any Red’s player for a trade would lead to something. If this was all a head fake that is quite detrimental to the club (or maybe the other GMs already figured this out).
I am also fearing that the large number of very middling players acquired will lead to even more wasted ABs, pinch hitting, running, defending, etc. and even more aggressive micro-mismanagement from David Bell.
Not an inspiring presentation. I suspect that Reds fans are in for a long season. Like to see Krall surprise in the next few days but I am not hopeful.
Doug, do you care to make a guess who the starting pitchers and everyday starters will be for the Bats?
I’d guess Santillan’s there for sure. Riley O’Brien. Vladimir Gutierrez. Maybe Lodolo. I’m just going off of the top of my head, so there’s probably some free agent signings I’m forgetting about that are in the mix.
Every day players? Jonathan India, TJ Friedl, Narciso Crook. Alfredo Rodriguez? Beyond that I’m drawing a blank right no.
Jose Garcia could be in the mix, too. Personally, I’d probably start him in Double-A. But I understand the idea behind starting him in Triple-A, too – especially if Triple-A is going to start playing games in April and Double-A isn’t going to start playing games until May.
Thanks, I’ve been going thru 2019 rosters to refamiliarize myself with the players. I’ve a lot of questions about all levels but with AAA starting before the others I’m more interested in the Bats.
Maybe I’m crazy but, in reading Krall’s comments about the SS position, it kinda seems like they might not be bringing in a bonafide starting SS….that they’re gonna go with what they currently got!
Anybody else get that from his comments?
I mean, in the above statements it was not mentioned if the team was still searching for a starting SS via trade or FA… I’d like to hear it from the Horse’s mouth, know what I’m saying?
Maybe I’m reading something into his comments that isn’t there…idk. Just wanna see if there’s anyone else that sees what I see in his comments.
I think it’s more that he’s really not allowed to talk about players that aren’t free agents or on his team. It’s certainly possible they are not planning on something else, but the free agent market doesn’t exactly have much beyond Villar – and if they are working on a trade, he can’t really talk specifically about a player.
There was a comment he made about always looking to improve the team, but that is something you are always doing throughout the year. I didn’t include it in this story, but he did mention it. He had mentioned how in years past they had added players *during* spring training that wound up making the team, noting specifically Jose Iglesias and Derek Dietrich.
I hope we go after Villar bcuz it won’t cost us any of our prospects that we have so little of.
Miley not being penciled in as #4 is encouraging. The rest … aside from maybe a little more flexibility in the bullpen … less than awe inspiring.
Also curious about the rules regarding how many can be in camp. It’s all within the same county, so that should help (as opposed to Florida). I have to believe Florida will have different rules they can play by on that front.
U r Probably spot on w/ Miley; his best days r likely behind him? However, he was much better than avg just a year earlier. Moreover, he does it by out pitching the hitter – something Reds pitchers can use some help w/. hopefully he bounces back
I think the biggest 2021 offseason need for the Reds was getting someone who can really build a major league roster.
Willy Adames would be worth trading for. I believe he could be an All Star.
Keep up the good work, Nick.
Now I feel better. This year will be awesome.
My prediction is the Reds score twice as many runs in the playoffs as last year.
My prediction is the Reds score twice as many runs in the playoffs as last year.
I see what you did there.
Who said people from Toms River NJ do not have a sense of humor!
If the reds don’t add another shortstop, I think Dee Strange-Gordon will not only make the big club, but will be in the mix as the starting shortstop.
Words of a GM who’s failed so far at his only objective of the offseason. Not a great start Nick. Our in house options aren’t good. Rosario and Villar aren’t much better. Hoping they can get Adames and at least salvage something of the offseason. Give Reds fans a little light at the end of the tunnel.
Everyone’s pooh-poohing Farmer at SS. While it would have been nice to have landed one of the FA SS, Mr. Farmer could surprise us all.
Farmer could surprise us all. And I could be the King of Prussia.
I have a brother in law that’s from PA. I used to call him the King of Prussia when they were dating.
Solid guy.
Kyle Farmer was on the team last year when they had to call up a High A guy for a playoff run. He didn’t suddenly get good over the off-season because he is a nice guy.
I would rather take a chance on Villar than trade away too much talent and overpay again!!
Kind if tough when he just signed with the Mets
Taking bets that Jose Peraza will be the Reds opening day SS.
Reds GM Dr Snooze describes Kyle Holder as a left handed hitter. Very in depth! Maybe Dee Strange-Glove can play there.
This really sticks in my Krall.
After hearing from the GM regarding a forgettable offseason, it would be nice to hear from the principal owner and what he has in store for the Reds.
Great fireworks and lots of bobblehead giveaways ! That’s about it – SELL THE TEAM ! !!!!!
“We will work tirelessly to bring a winner home to you.”
I’d say that any player that has a big 2021 will be traded. We’re in the midst of a rebuild, no one in the Reds organization is ready to admit it to the fans yet though. Hence this off-season.
Sell the team. To cheap to own a team with the history of the Reds.
The Red’s off-season will slow to a Krall. The GM will Doolittle and it will be very Strange.
Not bad.
Aside from Adames or Villar, I would ask the Dodgers about the availability of Chris Taylor. He has experience at shortstop and probably wouldn’t cost that much (prospect wise) in a trade. I think he’s due about 7 million this year.
Update: Jonathan Villar just signed with the Mets.
ugh
He signed as a bench player for the Mets. Could have started for the Reds but makes more sitting instead of playing. This is depressing.
This tells you everything you need to know about what Nick Krall is dealing with financially. He apparently couldn’t match a $3.55-million offer to a player who might have become the team’s starting shortstop. Please don’t blame Krall for what is happening. He is being given literally nothing to work with financially.
And as far as trading for a shortstop? Well, Krall will have to clear as much payroll as he absorbs. In other words, if you want to think Trevor Story is a possibility, start thinking about who Colorado would take in return that makes at least $17.5 million.
And Krall has all but told us more than once in press briefings that the shortstop position will be a platoon between Kyle Farmer and Kyle Holder.
Amed Rosario’s 2021 salary is $2.4 million. We legitimately have to ask at this point if that is too much for the Reds to absorb if they decide to try for a trade. Willy Adames’ salary is $575,000. But their value comes in the form of future team control, and they won’t come cheaply in terms of talent.
I agree with you Tom and this team has been here before and will be here again as far as having no money to spend.I can live with it because well I have to live with it.My problem has always been or at least for the last 7 years is that we want to settle for below average vets instead of giving our younger players legitimate shots,not a few at bats or a few innings on the mound,to see what they can actually do.All we seem to hear is that this player or that player isn’t ready and the same time we run out guys game after game and year after year that aren’t any good.I hear often about service time and not rushing guys etc etc but goodness if we don’t players that aren’t ready untill they are 24 or 25 years old then doesn’t that identify some major flaws in drafting and developing players?Of course it does and that along with the battle cry coming out of the front office of 4 or 5 more wins this year is showing progress is really getting old and I mean old.
I’m normally very optimistic on reds stuff.. but … since it was actually stated that getting a ss was one of the main goals of the off-season … and all they picked up was a poor hitting back up utility guy ( who would be badly miscast at SS) and a rule 5 guy ….
yay….
if there is not a trade …………….If Farmer/Gordon are the opening day SS …this off season was a total failure
no decision is a decision. We now see the reds decision.
Glad there was not a caravan this year. Questions would have been embarrassing. Castellini would have been a no show.
Worse GM in Reds History/ Dick Wagner,…
Nick Krall, “Hold my beer, I can be worse”
What a freaking joke.. You one job as GM and he failed.. Never dreamed we as fans get to watch another 5 years of losing again!!! No plan,, just all talk and I wish the Reds ownership, you have failed so bad at bringing World Championship baseball to Cincinnati, just sell the dang team.. I am not renewing my MLB package.. why? so i can be pissed off because the Reds care as much about winning to picking up crap off the ground and smile and tell you how great the ball park experience is!!!!.. Let those ppl that can make the ballpark so fun, let them make a team to Win, they at least have a plan.. Not lip service!! So frustrated and sick of Cincinnati Owners that get a freaking free pass to Suck and all the beat writers don’t hammer them how they failed the fans for ball parks WE as fans PAID for!! Should have made them pay for their own parks..if we knew back then what we know now.. Winning isnt important as their dang bank accounts!!
This is such a tough time to truly evaluate someone in Krall’s situation. It’s very clear that the team doesn’t want to spend money. Did he even have money to spend? How much? He can’t do much of anything if the payroll can’t be expanded at all unless you want him to trade Sonny Gray or Eugenio Suárez – the two guys that make actual amounts of money and seem tradable.
Perhaps on some level you are correct Doug.
But pro sports is not evaluated on that kind of a sliding scale. To paraphrase Yoda, “do or do not, there is no [credit for] try”.
Krall had 1 position he had to fill this off-season and failed to do so. We can try to pin blame on whatever factors you want, but the result is what matters and here that result is abject failure.
Krall said the money saved from trades and letting Bauer go (Approx 30 million) it would be allocated or some of it allocated to get a SS… Now to get a good SS, they have to over pay to do it since all the good Free Agent SS went elsewhere… Trading Saurez and Gray is throwing in 2021 as another 2014-2019 tank year again!! I just dont traut this front office doing another tanking.. they cant draft or trade well.. im just sick of being just above the Pirates in the NL… last year wont ever happen again.. 3 legit Ace pitchers and we couldn’t score a freaking run in the playoffs
I don’t believe that Krall actually said they were going to reallocate the money to get a shortstop. I believe he simply said they were going to reallocate the money that they had. Much of that reallocated money went towards raises for the guys that were arbitration eligible.
I think it’s pretty simple: Ownership has taken away just about every available opportunity for Nick Krall to acquire a shortstop because ownership isn’t willing to spend money to pay for a shortstop. Trading for a shortstop could be an option, but if the team decided Villar was too much at $3.5M, how many shortstops can they actually trade for?
I would totally be against trading Gray but if we could get a top caliber SS then as much as it would disappoint me to trade Suarez I would be willing to see that. Moose can move over to third and there are a number of options to play second including India. If they traded for Story or Correa though they would need to get something else back in terms of a prospect.
It’s clear to me Krall is boxed in by ownership and it’s the same reason Dick Williams stepped away. Who the Reds have now will battle it out in spring training for the Opening Day shortstop position. It seems to me the Reds will be closer in the standings to the Pirates rather than being competitive to win the NL Central. But first, they have to play the games.
He didn’t specifically say reallocate for a SS. But he did imply they were reallocating to be used for payroll and the reason they made salary dumps like Iglesias was to work with their budget.
“It’s a move that helps us reallocate resources to be used on different things. That’s how we looked at this,” Krall said. “Everybody has got a budget that they adhere to, but this is not a sign that there is more to come. We’re just looking at everything as a one-off and trying to make the best decisions as they come up and do the best we can with allocating our payroll the best we can.”
The implication is clear to me that at the time the plan was to use it on payroll and that further salary dumps shouldn’t be assumed.
Krall knew what he was getting into when he took the job. He’s the one that boxed himself into a corner with Reds fans when he said priority number one was finding a SS. He’s the one who implied the salary dumps (and non-tenders) were a way to accomplish those things while working in his budget. He’s a professional with a job to do.
The fact is he hasn’t got that job done, and this fan in particular feels like he hasn’t been upfront about it and has been misleading fans from the start. Don’t worry, I’m just as disgusted with Big Bob as I am the rest of the FO. Fans deserve better than this.
Theme of the offseason: “You have to krall before you can walk.”
You should be far more bothered by what ownership is doing than the employee who has to be the face of their unwillingness to provide the resources to do the job. The GM isn’t going to come out and say “ownership is actually cutting our payroll by $30M”.
With the Mets signing Villar, I wonder if the Reds could pursue a trade with the Mets for Luis Guillorme who is a utility infielder noted for his solid defense and high walk rates. He has no power to speak of but has been able to pretty consistently get on base. Could be a solid option who might not take much in a trade to hold the position until we know more about Garcia.
So with Villar signing for 3.55 million with the Mets, it tells me that Krall was given little money to acquire any players. You can’t blame Krall here. This is all on Flea market Bob. I have no problem tearing it down now and stocking the minors with prospects. This team isnt sniffing the World Series for years with this lineup and and dont even come close to matching up to the top 5 teams in the NL.
Trade sonny Gray to Toronto for Bo Bichette. Throw in Senzel or winker if necessary
Trading Senzel to Toronto would have made sense before they signed Simeon, and it’s something I would have liked to see. I’m not opposed to trading Winker, though he still has a chance to improve and to improve his trade value. And Gray? Gray was a tremendous find for the Reds. He was running neck-n-neck with Bauer last season for best ERA until he had a couple bad outings. The Reds got Gray on a contract that’s too good to trade him. And, he bleeds Reds baseball. He absolutely loves being a Red. The Reds need his leadership. Trading Castillo and getting more in return would make more sense.
It may be time for a Joe Morgan type trade. Stewart, Helms and May were all fan favorites. Let’s see a six or seven player trade that will make the Reds better. When the chips are down you have to be creative.
I would LOVE for the Reds to pull off something like a modern-day Joe Morgan trade. But to do that, you have to be smarter than the other teams out there. Do we see any sign that that is true?
I mean, don’t get me wrong, Nick Krall should be looking for Morgan-like trades 365 days a year. And if he finds one, jump on it.
But Bob Howsam was able to make that trade because he saw something that other teams (and in particular, Houston) did not. Are we doing that at all right now? (Maybe with pitching, with Driveline and Kyle Boddy, etc. But what about in the other half of the game? What’s our edge?)
I’m not sure why the team insists on overthinking this. Suarez to SS, Moose to 3B, Senzel to 2B. We have plenty of OF. They want better defense at Short? I want a 3B who doesn’t strike out 189 times a year. Does this team really care about fundamentals? They act like Senzel isn’t mentally tough enough to change positions yet he’s mentally tough enough to have the club screw him out of two years of service time? We have Skipper who loves strikeouts and homers. He loves putting on shifts. We don’t need gold glovers everywhere. We have stars everywhere with Geno at SS and Senzel at 2B. Stop overthinking this Reds. Geno is the best option.
Suarez Can NOT play SS anymore
Senzel to SS is more realistic at this point (pretty sure that aint happening either )
Spring training is around the corner. Let Suarez prove he cannot play shortstop anymore.
The Reds don’t have gold glovers ANYwhere (well, Tucker, but that was a few years ago) They only have a few barely adequate fielders. Move Suarez to short and you have a shortstop who can’t field the position and strikes out 189 times. It probably doesn’t matter, though. I’ll avoid the deck chairs on the Titanic and the ships sailing analogies and metaphors unless they decide to flood GABP and have canoe races instead of ball games, but the Reds have come within a tiny fraction of an inch of wearing out the 50+ year welcome I’ve extended to them.
Here is the head scratcher. Gregorious signs for 14 million per year. Even if the Reds lost Gregorious or Simeon to a better offer, now they do not have 3.5 million for Villar????? It makes you wonder if they never offered the three free agents anything. It was just a tease for the fan base all along.
I’m beginning to think Krall is way over his head. He failed miserably in his one task this offseason to secure a major league quality starting SS.
If the Reds no longer wish to spend money, why should the fans. I’ll keep watching on tv. I moved to Florida this last year, and will go to games here. If I still lived in Cincinnati, I’d have a hard time directly supporting Bob.
I actually thought a 5 million dollar pillow contract would have gotten Villar. To see that he takes less to not even be a full-time player? That all the Reds were doing is offering a minor league deal to a guy whose bat and speed would be a bargain at 5 mil?
Since they missed out on the free agent ss’s, forget about trading quality pieces for a 1-2 year fix. If Garcia is the future they say he is, he should be ready at the latest next year. He tears up minor league pitching early, bring him up.
I think as a small market team, if they were unable to find the right SS, I would not want them over-reaching if finances or picks to haul somebody in that isn’t a cornerstone or serviceable for some time. I think the writings been on the wall for some time that after committing the money they did last year, and having things fall the way they did, we should’ve been hoping for more but expecting where we’re at. It’s not a bad ball club. Additionally, one player does not make or break this team, and if we can work something serviceable out in house for SS, is that really so bad?
So lookin g at Sportrac the reds went from 145,000,000 last year to just under 112,000,000 this year. I agree with everyone that is saying why should I spend money with the reds if they do not want to put a good product on the field. I mean if they can not top the Mets and 3.5mm for Villar then what are we even doing here.
During the rebuild from 2014-2049 the reds had an operating income of 98 million. I will buy into they lost money last year but Jesus at some point you have to give us a reason to want to spend money with them. It seems that is was profitable to put crap team after crap team on the field to build for a future that was never coming.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/829618/cincinnati-reds-operating-income/
Well, I still think the bigger problem is David Bell and his managerial qualities, but if Farmer does get the chance to play every day, we all might be pleasantly surprised(hope, hope). Anyway, there needs to be more consistency and not shuffling guys in and out every day, or like they did with Aquino last year, up, down, up, down. Poor guy could not figure out if they wanted him or not.
I agree with your take on Bell. The Reds did make the play-offs last year, so let’s see what happens in 2021, but the Reds were built to win last year and they turned in a pretty so-so season on many fronts. The pandemic, I’m sure, played its part in that, so again, let’s see what happens in 2021. Maybe Bell’s brother or Aaron Boone would be a better option moving forward.
I was hoping for Villar (Thought he. Was a great fit for a year or two) but I Guess I need to get on the Farmer bandwagon
I know the Reds are going to have a far lower attendance than average this year due to social distancing in the stadium. Has there been any word as to how this will be done or when tickets go on sale?
I remember reading something last year that I believe suggested that teams would primarily sell tickets in groups of two and four. I assume that the season will start with somewhere around 8,000 to 10,000 fans (just a guess). You have to wonder how much tickets will be priced at due to supply and demand, seeing as how every game could be a “sellout”. The Reds could recoup some lost revenue in this manner. Increase the prices on tickets and parking.
Senzel is certainly no CF. I saw the Reds play against the Angels in Anaheim in ’18 and he looked…well, I can’t even say bush-league, little league would be a better term. He ran around like he was desperate and threw the ball into the infield to no one in particular. Sad to see, really. Having Suarez at 3B, the Reds should have traded Senzel when his value was up. Then the Reds bought Moustakas for 2B, pushing Senzel, who had learned the position, back into the OF.
At this point, just let Garcia play everyday at SS and understand that he’s going to have to learn to hit big league pitching “on the job.” There have been plenty of young guys that have struggled at the plate early in their careers and developed while in the show.
As long as Garcia understands that the team believes in him and can at least be competitive and isn’t getting the bat knocked out of his hands, then he should be given the chance to show he belongs.
Is Zach Cozart available?