The Cincinnati Reds officially begin the Luis Castillo-less era tonight as they look to even up the series against the Baltimore Orioles. Tyler Mahle takes the mound for Cincinnati in what could be his final start in the Reds jersey as he remains a much rumored player on the trade market. Baltimore will send Dean Kremer to the mound as they look to guarantee a winning series with a victory tonight.
Starting Lineups
Here are the lineups for this evening’s contest:
Baltimore Orioles
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
| Cedric Mullins – CF | Jonathan India – 2B |
| Adley Rutschman – C | Brandon Drury – 3B |
| Trey Mancini – 1B | Tommy Pham – LF |
| Anthony Santander – RF | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Austin Hays – LF | Mike Moustakas – DH |
| Rougned Odor – 2B | Kyle Farmer – SS |
| Ramon Urias – SS | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Terrin Vavra – DH | Jake Fraley – RF |
| Tyler Nevin – 3B | Michael Papierski – C |
| Dean Kremer – SP | Tyler Mahle – SP |
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB | K |
| Tyler Mahle | 98.1 | 4.48 | 1.27 | 39 | 107 |
| Dean Kremer | 47.0 | 3.06 | 1.30 | 13 | 38 |
| Links: Tyler Mahle’s Stats | Dean Kremer’s Stats |
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Tyler Mahle
Great American Ball Park hasn’t been friendly to a lot of pitchers throughout it’s history, and for Tyler Mahle that’s holding true once again this season. He’s made 11 starts at home in 2022 and posted a 4.94 ERA with 9 home runs allowed. In 7 road starts his ERA is 3.83 and he’s allowed just 3 home runs. Hitters have a .795 OPS against him in Cincinnati this year, while it’s just .561 on the road.
When it comes to facing righties and lefties, Mahle has had plenty of success against lefties and managers still tend to try and stack their lineups with lefties against him. Righties, though, are actually the guys that are hitting him this season, with a .769 OPS – a 124 point advantage versus what lefties have against him this year.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 194 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 47 | .261 | .320 | .449 |
| LHH | 224 | 40 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 60 | .205 | .292 | .354 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Split | |
| Velo | 93.5 | 85.8 | 84.0 | 85.5 |
| Usage | 51.0% | 10.8% | 13.4% | 24.8% |
Dean Kremer
The home and road splits for Dean Kremer are quite big this season, but the sample size is also small since he’s made just five home starts and four road starts. Still, he’s got a 1.66 ERA on the road (4.26 ERA at home). He’s also allowed just one home run in his four road starts.
The splits between the handedness of hitters he’s face is pretty big. Right-handed hitters don’t walk much, but they also make a long of contact and by comparison to lefties, they’ve hit for plenty of power, too. Lefties aren’t hitting for much average or power, and they strike out a lot more than righties do. They also walk more often than righties do against Kremer.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 105 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | .292 | .343 | .427 |
| LHH | 91 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 24 | .247 | .322 | .309 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-Seam | Cutter | Slider | Change | Curve | |
| Velo | 93.3 | 87.2 | 79.2 | 84.2 | 76.0 |
| Usage | 44.7% | 30.7% | 0.3% | 14.8% | 9.5% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Bally Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 80°, cloudy, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
Looking at the prospects in the Castillo deal
The Cincinnati Reds landed four prospects from the Seattle Mariners in the Luis Castillo trade on Friday night. Over at RedsMinorLeagues.com I took a more detailed look at each of the four guys that are now in the organization, including two of them who Baseball America ranks as Top 50 prospects in all of baseball.
Ryan Hendrix called up
With Castillo off of the roster the Reds are returning to a 5-man rotation. They’ll use that extra spot on the roster, at least for now, to bring Ryan Hendrix back up. He had cleared waivers earlier this season and was outrighted to Triple-A. They’ve added him back to the 40-man roster and he’ll join the bullpen tonight.
Go Seattle Mariners!! LOL
Reds must me an intermediate AAAA stop between the minors and MLB’s Mariners due to all those former Reds.
The Mariners should be careful not to add too many ex-Reds. They’ll end up losing 90 games.
Not really, Mariners are a good team who now have 3 good former Reds players. Not to mention Trammell.
Say what you want about the year Winker and Suarez are having. It doesn’t change the fact they are good players. Heck People seem to forget Castillo lost over 10 games last year.
Kind of thought Mahle would be traded before this start. As with Castillo I don’t know that I would risk injury this close to the deadline.
The Enquirer’ article said the focus on pitchers is a high SO rate. Seems less than an efficient strategy. Bullpen perhaps but starters?
Agree, LDS.
Twins have expressed an interested in Mahle. Would love to get their #8, OF Matt Wallner. Might require a deal-sweetener.
And if the Orioles are impressed with what they see tonight, how about their #7, OF Kyle Stowers? Again, would probably require a Farmer/Solano sweetener (they need infield help at the plate).
Just daydreaming here. I realize we’ll likely settle for distant prospects. Nick Krall has said we’re not playing for 2023. Love how he blithely says that next season doesn’t matter.
Why sweeteners. Mahle is worth only a little less than Castillo. At least 1 top 100 plus for him.
“Why sweeteners?”
Hope you’re watching.
I am. 6 ip 2 runs in GABP. Yanks and Dodgers will have to sweeten the deal if they want him.
Don’t need a sweetener there. Reds will get a decent bit more than that out of Mahle alone
That’s why the Reds are dealing both Mahle and Castillo—the market strongly favors the Reds as there are few starting pitchers available.
Nothing to be impressed with so far
Could be Mahle’s last game. Could be our Reds’ last chance to win a game until 2024. Maybe we might beat Pittsburgh a couple of times but I doubt it. Too bad I am out of town and can’t go, shucks
If Reds continue to run out the same players I can assure they won’t win much next year.The rest of this year and next should be about finding out who can play rather then wins and losses.Joey and Moose will probably be here but the rest of the line up should be guys that may not even shave yet.The more we trade of the older players the better chance this happens.Krall can always find a vet or two at a reasonable price to hold down a spot or two until help comes.Minor Pham Moran and Solano probably frees up 20 mil and Castillo’s money would have been probably 13 mil so there will be some money.For me I take some of that and fix the pen and go young at short and in the outfield and play ball.All is not lost so we play on.
If Krall pulls off a couple of more decent trades then what’s another lost year? If he’s really serious about the future, he should fire Bell and the entire coaching staff. The Reds need a more youth friendly management team.
LDS, you are 100 percent correct, move Bell to the front office. There is no way I would trust him with all this young talent. We all know how he favors the veterans. That is a fact not an opinion.
The problem is mañana never comes with the Reds. Right now should have been the middle of a window of upswing and hopefully contention.
My problem with Bell is not with playing veterans. My problem with Bell is that he’s too easy on the players. We need a manager who is tougher and sets the non-negotiables. It looks to me like Bell wants to be these guys best friend and that’s not what we need in a manager. Even the young guys need to know that this is a business and you are expected to outperform the opponent.
Well, let’s consider: India, Stephenson, the young pitchers… seems like evidence that the Reds and, by extension, Bell, can handle young talent. You seem to assume that Fairchild, Lopez, etc. are major talents. The Reds’ organization has been watching these guys for a while. Maybe they aren’t as promising as fans watching on tv think. And how do we know how tough Bell is or isn’t? A good leader doesn’t reveal that in front of the public.
+1000 Greenmtred
Need a good lefty hitter with plate discipline for Mahle plus a AA bullpen arm
Drury should get a good AA arm
Solano a good A arm
Pham a bucket of sun seeds and a washed up minor league AAA arm to
Eat innings in september . Then wash your hands of that hot mess.
Disagree. More high end young talent is the answer to all trade questions right now. Nobody already in the majors or washed up AAA.
Jon india and tyler stephenson werent major league ready in 2021? No player in all of AAA is major leGue ready
Thats just broken dysfunctional absolutism . No one in AAA anywhere is ready to play mlb
Let it go dude
It took me many hours to reconcile all of my feelings about the trade.
Immediately after the Winker-Suarez trade, I wrote here that the Reds have embarked on the Tampa Bay model. The Gray, Naquin and now Castillo trades have cemented that as the “plan,” though I was thrown off track by the trade of Garrett for Minor. That one still makes zero sense.
Now that the plan is very clear, and many here at Redleg Nation are excited about the return for Castillo, I still have very great reservations. Namely:
1) Trading proven major league talent for low-level prospects is a high-risk strategy. Even top prospects, particularly at lower levels, often fail to make it to the bigs. There is nothing for sure about what the Reds received, and it was for sure that they had an ace starter that they sent away.
2) If the front office is not going to sign key players to extensions, then all of this is for naught. They have to lock up the keepers they know they have, and as of now, that equals India and Stephenson. It will do ZERO good to have good prospects if India and Stephenson have to be traded in a few years because their contracts are expiring.
This plan WILL NOT WORK unless the front office is willing to commit to extensions. I will wait to see that happen before I will have any confidence that this plan has a chance to succeed.
I share your sentiments, Tom. I suspect the FO is focused and celebrating solely on the $120 to $140 million dollars they shipped to Seattle last night.
100% agree. In my opinion it is all smoke and mirrors.
The market for castillo is 5/100 or 6/120 Dems da facts
Its easy to say keep Castillo but are you willing to give Jose Berrios Kevin gausman robby Ray and now Joe musgrove money . Are you willing pay castillo $22-25 million in 2027/28 at age 34/35? Thats the commitment .
I also think Krall is finally being given some decision making authority now that the bad contracts are winding down
What I’m waiting to see is what kind of commitments they are willing to make. Now would be the perfect time to buy out some of India’s and Stephenson’s arbitration years in exchange for additional seasons under team control. I am with you that what Castillo will seek at his age is not something the front office will be willing to agree to.
+1000 Tom. The return on Naquin and Castillo are excellent if they are part of a plan that includes building and holding a core long enough to have a window of contention otherwise, they are just so much (expletive of your choice deleted).
And I agree very much with your point #1. I’d be more of a believer if some of the glut of low and mid minors talent (excluding EDLC) were flipped between now and the deadline to return an actual young player performing at MLB or a consensus “can’t miss” guy posting huge numbers at AAA.
Completely disagree Jim. This is a last place team for another 1.3 years. Why trade for a guy whose clock is running? And, any “can’t miss guy putting up huge numbers in AAA” who is available is worth more than Castillo. Nobody is trading that guy if he even exists.
The Reds are trying to build a winning baseball team. This is the only was to do it in Cincinnati in the current marketplace.
I agree extentions need to be on the table with money that will be free up… But remember Suarez. He had the “best contract in baseball” until he didn’t.
@greemfield> Because no team outside of the Dodgers/ Yankees level controls when it will contend. It doesn’t work to sit back and plan windows. Put the best team possible on the field every without mortgaging the future. When opportunity knocks, jump all over it, like the Reds refused to di last year and ran away from trying this year.
Jim… the Reds are taking control right now… and it’s great.
They have more work to do before Tuesday.
Good points Tom.
Tom, I hope the lock up Stephenson get him moved to 1B. I know this means little now. But I think Stephenson could win a batting title some day.
Aa for India I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t trade for a position of need in 2024. Whatever that might be by then.
I am absolutely with you 100 percent. I have heard the arguments of some who say that he is a standout at catcher but would be just average at first base (from an offensive output standpoint). We have the evidence staring us in the face of the physical punishment catchers endure, and to expect Stephenson to continue to hit well with ongoing broken bones and other serious physical trauma is silly. Put him at first base and let him develop to his fullest potential as a hitter.
I agree that TS might be the exception and if he can’t stay healthy as a catcher that his bat is too valuable not to have in the lineup. My question has always been in this discussion, does that mean that every time we get a good hitting catcher, which is rare, do we move him to a different position to protect him from injury? I’m not in that camp to do that.
I’m not concerned with some of the trades. Gray looked like he was losing his stuff late last year, Suarez was a strikeout machine and both Winker and Naquin missed considerable time during their time with the Reds due to injury. All good players but certainly not irreplaceable and none likely to be difference makers.
Now, granted Castillo was an ace, and you’re right there’s nothing guaranteed about the return the Reds got on the trade, but at least the Reds traded Castillo when his value was at the peak and as Old-School pointed out that’s a lot of money to spend on one player after next season.
Regarding the extensions for India and Stephenson, these guys aren’t free agents until what 2027 (?), so I’m not concerned about that today, maybe in a year or two, so the Reds have time to work that out.
Have you been watching? How did those extensions work with Suarez? Bailey? How many players do the Rays extend? Don’t fall in love with players. Krall did a great job dumping Winker Suarez Barnhart Gray and not signing Lorenzon and Castellanos. Those six players are $58m for a WAR of 1.1. Drury is $.9m and his WAR alone is 2.0. Thank goodness Krall is in charge
I largely agree, Tom, but trading Castillo for proven player(s) would have been fraught: who could they reasonably get who would have turned the team around? This trade is a gamble, but I think a gamble made the most sense, given the state of the roster. As for Garrett, he was a study in futility; loaded with potential, but potential unrealized. Minor was a gamble, too, and a gamble that hasn’t paid off. But for one year.
You are correct Tom. A lot of things will need to go right for this to work. I think the Reds are done with handing out long term contracts. Nick Krall talks a lot about sustainability.
I suspect India and Stephenson will be traded as they near free agency. My point is why wait?
Trade them now and acquire prospects that should arrive together. It’s a long shot to be sure, but with this approach you are always going to have established players leaving just as the young players are arriving.
Trade Stephenson, Senzel, India and maybe even Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo for as many talented 18 year olds you can find. That way there is a chance this team being really good in say 2028.
The Indians took a similar approach in the early 1990s when Lofton, Belle, Thome, Alamor jr. and Manny Ramirez all came up around the same time.
Why make a half hearted approach with Stephenson and India playing on a terrible team just to turn around and trade them in a couple of years. If you are going to rebuild ,then go all in.
The Reds won’t do that of course because of the bad PR, but it’s a more sensible approach.
Might the Orioles be interested in Drury?
They have a few years before they need to worry about India and Stephenson. As for the young guys they picked up you have to believe in them just like you have to believe in EDLC and Collier, to a lesser extend. Keeping Castillo, or Mahle, now makes no sense. This is not going to be a good team next year no matter what but, hopefully much better in 2024 and even better in 2025.
Stephenson was up in 2020. Depending how they ration/ prorate that short season service time, he could be a Super2 (eligible for arbitration for the 2023 season). India is a lock for 2024.
This offseason is when they should try to get them both under contract for at least 5 more years.
Then why keep Stephenson and India around to play for a lousy team? Why not trade them while they are at peak value?
Trade India and Stephenson for the best set of 18 and 19 year old prospects you can find.
This is the reason the Red’s re-builds never work. They always take a half-hearted approach.
Trade India, Stephenson, Greene and Lodolo and load up on young prospects. That’s the approach to take.
Wtf was that.
Mahle might be a little distracted tonight?
Can’t trade him soon enough
Lmao
Maybe he’s having a hard time trying to sell his house and doesn’t want to get traded.
Fraley charged the ball on the base hit to right and 2 hopped it to Votto? The Orioles will run on him all day!
That was one of the lamest throws I’ve seen in right field………..since Matt Carpenter.
Exactly, and there are posters that are praising his defensive ability. Never saw Reynolds charging a ball and 2 hopping the cutoff man.
Fraley is not a major leaguer. I understand he wasn’t the highlight of the Winker trade just the most visible part of it, but common now
India must’ve talked hitting with Donnie Barrels a couple of weeks ago. He’s hitting a lot of balls with authority.
Thanks, Mahle, for not showing up for your showcase.
And Fraley is a joke as an outfielder.
2023 is going to be fugly.
Relax
Huh? Mahle pitched 6 innings gave up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 and allowing 0 walks.
You have very high standards
I believe India will be the only player in today’s line up still with the team in 2024. There is an outside chance for Senzel and maybe Fraley if he really turns things around and becomes a 4th outfielder.
I am confused is the 2023 season canceled? LOL
I think we all know what 2023 is going t look like, very similar to this year. I wouldn’t mind losing if we didn’t have to watch the likes of Votto, Moose and Farmer. I wish they would go the route the Astros took several years ago, even though they lost 100 games a few years it led to a world series championship and several more great years.
No sense to get excited about Fraley cause even if he had made a good throw and goes 5-5 tonight its just a cup of coffee for him.Fairchild came up after tearing up AAA went 2-2 his first game and has gone 0-13 since.Thats of course 13 at bats total since his first game on July 13th.
Fairchild has 4 hits in 40 career abs. He can’t hit major league pitching.
So do we cut him now or give him some more at bats?
Kyle farmer was 0-32 in early May and hitting .170. Does that mean Farmer should not be on the Reds roster? 40 at bats is the end all be all? Votto was hitting .150 after 100 at bats?
My opinion like everyone else. Votto is a hall of famer and Farmer a proven mlb player. Again my opinion.
The Reds said they were cutting costs to match resources, and I naively believed them. I was all for the inexpensive youth movement.
Then they signed veterans Minor, Pham, Solano, and Strickland to non-cheap contracts.
Wish management would make up its mind.
And now they’re acquiring prospects who won’t play in the bigs in 2023.
Sure am glad that next season doesn’t matter.
Feeling salty about the Reds. Time to move to Who Dey.
The trade for Minor is probably the most puzzling trade I have seen. Pham signing also was also strange, but I guess they were hoping he would have trade value.
We already knew 2023 was going to be ugly. I’m glad they aren’t demanding “MLB ready” prospects, we watched that method fail in 2015. Getting some higher ceiling guys in A and AA is a much better strategy
I wonder if the Reds FO noticed that 28K people showed up for the Bengals practice?
India needs to start wearing the sliding mitten. He’s always going in head first and will injure his hand on of these days
I offer India 6 yrs 80 mil this off-season on an annual value progressive slider
Gets you two extra post arb years through his age 32 season
My guess is that he would want more in average annual value, particularly to sign with a team that is going nowhere (as of now). But I think that’s the right idea, and the kind of deal the front office MUST be willing to consider.
90 mil? 100 mil?
If his offensive totals for this year equal or come close to last year’s, he’ll be in a position where that discussion would make sense to both sides (him and front office).
Personally I don’t understand how someone, anyone, could turn down $80 million guaranteed dollars especially considering how things can change so rapidly in baseball. I guess I’m on a different planet.
Let’s wait until at least next year. A few of our top SS prospects may blossom and we may be able to get 2-3 good prospects back with a trade of India a year and a half before FA like Castillo. We’d only have to pay arb money, which should be under his true value. The new business strategy of the Reds
I hope that’s not the strategy, but we’ll know over the next 12 to 18 months.
That is similar to the deal the Pirates struck with Ke-Bryan Hayes. I think it was 7yrs/$80mil
Maybe I’m confused about salaries, but don’t they basically have India locked up for the next four years for, at most, something like $20 million? And wouldn’t that mean they’d be paying him something like $60 million for two additional seasons? (If that’s wrong, please explain what I’m missing.)
Structure the contract so he’s making basically arb money through arb years, but you’re basically getting him to agree to a 2 yr $15mil-ish tag on when he’d be bouncing for free agency looking for a much longer and expensive deal
Kinda wish we were on the road for this series. Mahle pitches better on the road. A lot of hard hit balls first time through the order.
Mahle’s on pace for about five innings — typical high pitch count.
I’m guessing he’s thinking too much about being traded. Maybe a touch of Winker, who seems somewhat depressed at having been traded.
Could be. I went through a lot of mental turmoil last night, and I don’t play with Castillo and don’t know him personally. And I didn’t receive confirmation that my employer is basically throwing in the towel on the next couple of big-league seasons. These guys are human beings, and it has to have some impact.
Yeah, I thought Winker’s “Seattle Redlegs” comment was telling. Having gone through multiple takeovers in my former career, the human cost of these kinds of changes can be rather high.
Gray pitching for Twins this evening
I literally have no opinion on jake fraley other than he has a track record of plate discipline and little mlb time
Amazing to hear how hes becoming a polarizing guy
Ill give him 200 at bats and 50 games
Where else you gonna go?
The way Pap is hitting, maybe Strphenson will get traded. The guy is a hitting machine.
Agreed. There’s not enough info on him or Fairchild yet to make a final decision.
My knock on Fraley is that he doesn’t have the arm to play in the OF. Same with Friedl. Guys with bad arms usually have to go to first or DH.
Pretty good game
Pap with a knock and a rbi after Fraley gets a hit.Who are these guys?
I hope Senzel was watching that play very closely. That’s how you catch a fly ball and fire it home. Not the way he did it last night nonchalantly.
Yes, beautifully done by Santander.
I am seeing draconian situations being listed here, Kralll and the Castellini’s know that there is a difference between Trading LC and Mahle, and doing a total tear down. There will be an effort to build a team around India, and Stephenson. There are at least three starting pitchers, for next year, there will be a starting level C, 2B, CF already, plus some offseason moves. Barreos and DLC will be coming up to the majors next year. It may not be next year, but there is no way this is another 5 year teardown
Change makes people nervous. I say keep stacking as much young talent in the minors as you can and it will work out for the better. The pitching in particular looks very promising.
However, the Reds need to start hitting on some of their positional player draft picks. Collier for instance.
The Reds need to get rid of Drury asap for whatever they can get. He seems to be cooling off.
Maybe having the same issues as others about the uncertainty surrounding his future. Just think if Reds are negotiating with him at the same time they also talking trades w/ other teams which involve him.
Very little is secret these days except from the public and by inference media that are not spoon fed “leaks” for the sake of shaping events or opinions. So, he probably knows about trade talks and at the same time may have some offer on the table conditional on what someone won’t give for him or he agreeing to a lower AAV than his agent says they can get as free agent after the season.
Nice scoop by the old man
I am not sure how much longer I can watch Pham and Moose strike out. If you can’t trade them I wish they would just cut them loose and yes I know they would be eating a lot of money. However they both look terrible, especially Moose.
Pham had a multi-hit game the other night. He runs well, fields well, plays hard. He’s not a great hitter or even a very good one, but who, on the roster, do you play in his place?
4 HR for Aquino in 11 games of rehab. His rehab OPS was 1.125 coming into tonight. He has a Vottoesque .439 OBP. on rehab and a .300+ batting average. K rate is right at 33%.
Considering his .798 OPS, 115 OPS+ in the 3 weeks after he was called back to the Reds and prior to being injured, maybe the light has finally gone on for him.
Hope Pham is traded so there will be enough opportunity to see the likes of AA, Fraley and Fairchild almost everyday with the Reds
I’d also like to see Aquino in right field for an extended period of time. Didn’t used to think so, but he adds value even when he isn’t hitting much.
I know you and I haven’t given up on him Jim. We still think it’s possible to tap into that great talent that he has inside him.
PAY HIM!
I agree. He is doing it at a major league level. Prospects are prospects until they show they can hit major league hitting. And India is not Suarez.
INDIA!!!!!
That is very close…. i think this is a stands but I will understand if it is overturned
Have the Reds made an official announcement or is there a different reasoning why the minor league starters seem to be on 75 pitch limits this second half?
Williamson throwing a shut out so far through 5 innings against Columbus,He has walked 4 but only 3 hits and no runs.Anybody know about him?
He was the key piece in the WInker trade and Nick Lodolo’s best friend.
Thanks.Looked some after I asked and he is a big lefty with a big arm it seems.
He was nick lodolos college roommate I believe.
Here for the “Reds are bad because of Joey Votto” comments
LOL, or after bullpen blows the game its Vottos fault. Lol
? ?
That wasn’t a wall scraper.
BUt BUt BUT he aint getting traded
He’s recent hot streak may get ux to fourth place. Lol
Entertaining game tonight! I’d really like to keep Mahle around since its unlikely all the young guys are going to figure it out. It would be nice to have one guy in his prime in 2024 if we want to contend.
Votto still has power. I wouldn’t be on him so much if they bat him 6th and sat him vs lefties. A normal admission of the aging process that Bell ignores. Miggy and Pujols don’t play 150+ at cleanup.
Yeah, Where was Votto the first half when the Reds needed him????
LOL. Sure why not it’s his fault Reds started 3-22. Its his fault bullpen blows the lead. LOL
Well Kevin hopefully you realize Votto hits .175 every April like clockwork. That doesn’t help boost the team to a quick start
The point that Votto’s fan club here chooses to ignore is that Votto isn’t coming back to say his 2017 form. Some days he’ll hit a home run and others he’ll strike out a couple of times and hit into a DP. Just like with Suarez last year, each HR doesn’t presage his return. He can’t hit LH’ers reliably. His results against RH’ers is mixed. His defense has declined. He’s not a 4 slot hitter any longer. He’s a part time, platoon hitter, probably a DH. The sad thing is his and Bell’s unwillingness to accept that is tarnishing his reputation. Clinging to what used to be is merely sad and embarrassing. The truly great know when to hang it up. The lesser greats always strive for one more at bat.
I will never cut on Joey Votto as a baseball player. Yes he is old and not what he used to be but for the total of his career as a red the man has been worth every penny of his contract. He is a class act and one of the greatest hitters in Reds history. At the end of the day his career advanced hitting stats will warrant his HOF induction. Hoping he is our #1 DH next year with a day or two of rest per week vs Lefties. My prediction is that he ends up with 22 HRs this year.
Since we are never going to see that ever again I am just going to shake my head. Obviously Farmer saw the catch and not the wall bounced
I wonder if the 3rd base coach sent him back?
Hilarious watching Farmer race to 1st and ignore Senzel. I’m surprised Senzel read the Fraley hit to left and scored earlier. Worst baserunning team in Mlb for 4-5 years running
@IndyRedMan.
Yes I realize Votto is historically slow to start the season. In saying that baseball is a team sport and to act like it’s on Votto for the losing or bullpen blowing games is in my opinion unrealistic expectations on 1 player. I mean if I wanted to I could say Tyler Stephenson is made of glass and can’t stay healthy. But I won’t
Yes, he has struggled this year.
No Kevin H you’re just talking nonsense now
If Votto wasn’t getting paid $25 mil this year every overaged journeyman in the reds line up would be hitting .280, none of the relied upon bullpen arms would be hurt, and every rookie starting pitcher would already be looking like a Cy Young winner
Votto’s existence has screwed all that up
I am beginning to think we can overlook Fraley’s Glove issues
Not for a while we can’t. One robin maketh not a spring.
OK maybe this is the Fraley we were hoping for and not the one before the injury.
Won’t matter cause its just a cup of coffee unless Krall told Bell he wants to see him play and play a lot.
I’m perfectly fine with Paperski as the backup of Stephenson as long as paperski starts the same amount as Kolasvary starts now. Not the 50/50 split that Bell was doing earlier. I would prefer someone better but he at least sees several pitches each AB and finds himself on base a decent amount here lately.
Aquino with a home run just now and Williamson has thrown 6 shut out innings.
I don’t understand how Senzel doesn’t get credit for a single. He touched first and then passed Farmer.
I don’t get that either. Wouldn’t be shocked to see that changed.
I don’t think Senzel gets credit for a hit because he didn’t take first base. Farmer was on first and didn’t take posession of second. Senzel can’t take first until Farmer takes second.
Mahle is still young. Wonder if Reds would sign him to a 3 year deal? Would be nice to have that 1 veteran pitcher to lead the staff.
It’s all about the Washingtons (or Franklins). Mahle’s going to want to find out what the market will pay for him, and the Reds won’t come close to it with the business plan they have committed to.
Musgrave got 5 years 100million. Was just thinking out loud in terms of Mahle.
Reds would probably have to overpay to keep Mahle as well, given his home/road splits. They’ll need to make it worthwhile for him to keep pitching in the bandbox half the time.
It would be wise to remove Mahle now, even considering what lies in wait in the bullpen. He’s retired 13 in a row and couldn’t leave a more positive impression than right at this moment.
+500
He is almost at 100. Up 8-2 I see why not, unless they let him come out for one hitter and then take him out to a standing ovation.
Late to the chat. Busy day and no TV feed for me (VPN trick did NOT work).
I see the big sticks are out tonight. I’ll have to watch a few of the key innings tomorrow when they are available.
Looks like 6 good innings out of Mahle. I’m thinking his next uniform is likely the Twinkies. If we even get 1/2 the haul we got for LC, then it’s a good thing IMO.
it was another But but but day
I saw the stat on that one. Have to go watch the video.
So who does Krall ship out tonight? How about a Moose-Pham package?
If they pulled off a Moose-Pham package I would be so happy
Haha, wouldn’t we all. Still a lot of possibilities left but we’ll see
If a team takes on that deal for anybody or anything, their fan base should riot.
Nobody will.
Great bounce back by Mahle after a rocky first inning.Reds should ask for close to what they got for Castillo.Mahle would win 15 pitching in a bigger park and the numbers support that.
I’m with you. I think he’d love to pitch in a bigger ballpark, but I don’t think he will say that out loud.
Agree and I think in a bigger park will so very well.
And 3M swings at ball 4 for a GIDP. If Gameday is anything close to accurate, he was pretty wild on the swings, even though he did lay off the garbage in the dirt. Hard to “watch” even that way.
Wonder if they find a way to ship him out before Tuesday …
Didi has been terrible for Philly. Why not Farmer? He could really help them vs lefties. He could be their cleanup hitter vs lefties
They just traded for a SS. Their biggest problem is defense and Farmer wouldn’t help there.
Why not Orioles trading for him and playing second against Lefties. Odor isn’t the answer.
If they can’t dump Moose’s salary before the deadline, I believe it is time to eat the loss and release him. He feels like an automatic out every time he steps in the box.
They’ll probably (hopefully) dump him before next season and eat the final year like Shogo.
Good night so far, great job by Mahle after first inning. Positive night for India, Drury, Votto, Senzel, Pap, Fraley. However, Moose and Pham 0 for 8. Oh well, can’t have everything.
Yep but we need to remember that the fact they aren’t hitting is on them. But the fact that they are still starting is on Bell.
+1,000
LDS: I await your managerial debut with bated breath. Should be duck soup for you: 26 players, and all you have to do is have the guys who will get a hit bat, and the guys who will get outs pitch. Of course, troubling facts do cloud the rosy prospect: Piniella, Sparky and Casey all endured horrible seasons, I guess they forgot how to manage? Or maybe–just maybe–they had bad rosters. But I’m sure that you will figure it out and prevail. I’m going to try to stay alive long enough to revel in the resurgence.
Greenmtred, once again you choose to conflate a bad season with Bell’s bad seasons. Bell has a track record of favoring older has-beens. That’s not an opinion. That simply 3+ seasons of observation. I do hope you are getting paid for always jumping to his defense
I just like arguing with you, LDS, I do this gratis for the sport. Sparky, Lou and Casey didn’t have many bad seasons because they mostly had good players.
Remember Bell bragged about being in on acquisition. So I guess he hasn’t done well there either.
Right now Diaz,Antone and Sanmartin are the only locks for the bullpen. Everybody else has work to do.
Antone coming back from 2nd tommy John. Big question is can he return to form. I think Moreta has potential and pitching better. Your thoughts on Moreta?
He has the velocity but a rookie. I think him and Big Tony will be there next year but I would like to see more. Moreta needs more appearances and he will this year. Just keep getting better like SanMartin has.
One of the biggest, and best, surprises of the year has to be San Martin’s bull pen work. He may be a keeper at only 26 years old.
Because he won’t yet have a full year of major league roster time after this year, the Reds will still control him for six years. Could be a real find.
EDLC 2-3 with a HR tonight in Chatanooga. Batting average up to .265 after his slow start last week.
Senzel has hit the ball hard tonight. Only a double to show for it.
Senzel hit it hard all night long but only one hit to show for it.
I’m thinking a Nick Senzel hitting .270+ and playing the way he plays is definitely a good piece of the overall puzzle to have.
Just think he was around .170 what a month and a half ago?
@JB Great minds.
If he didn’t start out bad , he would be .300 hitter right now. Really like his plate approach. He gets really comfortable and then adds power, look out.
Who is injured? Gameday just shows a delay.
Oriole catcher got a foul ball off his ” Boys”.
I have know idea how good,or bad, Fraley may be in the long run but, you have to admit he looks like a baseball player.
A left handed Justin Turner.
Thats 19 in a row by Reds pitchers.How about that?
Man I got to learn to just hush on stuff like that.
just got the pizza strike out
Sets us up for a series win tomorrow and a winning homestand to start out after the AS break. Nice way for Mahle to end his Reds career.
Everyone gets a hit except Pham and Moose.
No one invited them to the party?
Game recap article is ready: https://www.redlegnation.com/2022/07/30/mahle-fraley-impress-in-reds-8-2-win-over-baltimore-orioles/