The Cincinnati Reds made a set of roster moves this evening as they announced that they had activated right-handed reliever Michael Feliz from the injured list. They optioned left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez back to Triple-A Louisville. Right-handed pitcher Hector Perez was also designated for assignment, which cleared the way for Feliz to be added back to the 40-man roster after temporarily not counting towards it while on the non-specified injury list.
For Michael Feliz the stint on the non-specified injured list was a short stay. The team added him to it on Tuesday and he returned to the active roster today – only missing one game. He may have picked the right game to miss as just about everyone else in the game was lit up like a Christmas tree on Tuesday.
When a player goes on the non-specified injured list they do not count towards the 40-man roster. Cincinnati used that spot to call up Mike Freeman, adding him to the 40-man roster in the process. A day later that move meant someone was going to have to be designated for assignment, or one of the injured players was going to need to be added to the 60-day injured list.
The Reds chose to designate reliever Hector Perez for assignment. He had spent the entire season in Triple-A Louisville. The right-hander struggled, walking 11 batters and allowing nine runs in 8.2 innings with seven strikeouts. The 25-year-old was acquired from Toronto in January via trade for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Cionel Pérez has had some back-and-forth of late. He was optioned to Triple-A on May 31st and then recalled yesterday, and now he’s on his way back to join the Bats in Louisville after allowing three earned run on three walks, three hits, and a home run in 1.2 innings in the Reds 14-run loss to the Phillies on Tuesday night.
Another day of roster “musical chairs” to find a keeper.
The Reds riding a .160 hitter into the LO spot, while fading isn’t going to fly.
This team is flawed but by most metrics Suarez is just padding stats while adding virtually no WAR.
Votto returns which is good. But suddenly TS has no where to play despite being one of the top 6 or so bats on the team. Also India is guaranteed to sit behind Farmer despite being a more productive player.
The team must force a move. They have to fix this roster glut through the FO. Castellanos is awesome, but a trade can net a real return and open up the OF to the extent needed to use the chips remaining.
It won’t improve the team now, but it will right the ship and position them better in 2022 and years to come.
This team can’t, and shouldn’t, play just to sneak into the post season again.
Since moving to the leadoff spot Suárez OPS is .865 (.313/.552) and his wRC+ is 131. Like all of us, he can’t change what happened in the past. He can only try to do better moving forward. In the last week, he has done that. If he continues as he has in the last week plus, the WAR will take care of itself over time.
But realistically, Suárez at lead off is not the answer to building a championship contender, is it?
It is if it works
I mean, of course I doubt Suarez is the ideal leadoff hitter on paper, but for a team without a better answer outside of Winker I dont see a reason to gripe, especially right now. This could be a mirage, but why not ride it out if its working. This team has 2 hitters that are ideal for any spot and a bunch of other guys with question marks, so unsurprisingly those other lineup spots are likely to have some question marks.
Even when Bell does something that works it’ll just get passed off as luck around here.
Regarding Castellanos, would trading him at the deadline have a good chance of netting a good player in return? If the receiving team liable to pay the salary previously negotiated with the Reds? If the Reds wait until the end of the year and he then is assured of opting out, do the Reds get any anything “pick” in return? Thanks, if anyone knows the rules on this situation.
From what was written about his two opt out years (20 and 21), the following year is automatically considered a qualifying offer. So they are entitled to a compensatory pick if he opts out after the season.
MLB trade rumors ranks the only two Reds in their June edition of trade deadline candidates (mostly bc the Reds aren’t out of it yet, the list is littered with Rockies, Pirates, Tigers, Rangers, etc) and Nick is one.
Past trades of players at his level were Matt Holliday or perhaps Mark McGuire – both made a deadline. Those guys netted 3+ prospects and usually one that was MLB ready.
The market should be ripe. The NL East is open and Philly, Washington, Atl, and NY are all in need of an OF. The Giants would want an offense injection to keep them in that race out west too.
When the Rangers unloaded Mark Texiera (sp?) they got a haul including Andrus and Saltamaccia. (I’m butchering these names without looking them up)
If a player is traded, the “receiving” team assumes responsibility for his contract. In some cases, the “sending” team may include cash in the deal to offset a portion of the obligation being assumed by the receivers.
Specifically in Castellanos situation, the team he went to would be taking on a sunken cost of the remainder of his salary for 2021 ($14M less what’s already been paid out) and should he NOT opt out, also his salary for 2022 and 2023 ($16M each year) plus at least the $2M payout on his mutual option for 2024 ($20M).
For simplicity sake, let’s assume Castellanos is traded at the deadline leaving 2 months of his 2021 salary still to be paid and then subsequently opts out of the contract at season’s end. In this scenario, the receivers are on the hook for about $4.7M.
If the Reds hold onto him through the end of the season, under the rules of the expiring (as of 12/1/2021) CBA, they can get a compensation pick in the next June draft. Given the salary tier Castellanos would almost certainly sign for as a free agent, the Reds pick would be the 2nd pick (of any type) of the team which eventually signed him.
Thanks for the info! I also believe there are several solid buyers out there and the Reds sorely need to “rebalance” their positional strength going forward. But, it surprises me that it is unlikely that even one serviceable MLB player would be netted in a trade such as this. Nick is an extremely good person to have on the team and has shown major improvement in all aspects of his game. There is good talent here but the trading game and what to do about David Bell are the keys moving forward. If the Reds continue to flounder in place come Independence Day, no one should be immune from the trading desk.
We need Votto, Moose, and Senzel back, like, yesterday.
And Castillo, Gray back to form and two more dependable relievers.
This team needs many things and a good start would be getting those three back I agree!