The Cincinnati Reds sent Hunter Greene on a rehab start on Thursday night. Greene headed to Triple-A Louisville to make his first start in a month, with his last outing being a dominant 6-inning, 1-hit performance that included eight strikeouts against the Miami Marlins on August 1st. A shoulder strain sidelined him after that and he went about a week without throwing before ramping things up a little bit.
Thursday night saw Hunter Greene throwing 99-100 MPH in the first inning and he struck out all three batters he faced in the 1st inning for Louisville. Indianapolis did make him work a little bit for it as Greene needed 17 pitches in the inning.
In the second inning he gave up a leadoff double on a change up to a left-handed hitter. Two pitches later he got a ground out to third base. Three pitches after that he recorded his fourth strikeout of the game. Another three pitches and he got a ground out to end the inning. Greene threw 28 pitches in total with 18 strikes, walked no one, struck out four batters, allowed one hit and no runs. He’s expected to make at least one more rehab start next week, though the exact date and level hasn’t yet been announced (Louisville is at home so it’s very likely going to take place there).
Mike Moustakas and Jeff Hoffman to the 60-day IL
With the Reds calling up Spencer Steer and Fernando Cruz they needed two spots opened up on the 40-man roster. Those spots were opened up by transferring Mike Moustakas and Jeff Hoffman to the 60-day injured list.
Mike Moustakas, who was placed on the 10-day injured list a week ago with a calf injury, is now out for the rest of the season. Jeff Hoffman would be eligible to return from the injured list on September 22nd. The reliever was put on the injured list with a right forearm strain on July 24th. It’s not clear if he will be able to return before the season is over.
Hopefully, Moustakas days as a Red are over, but I’m sure that’s wishful thinking. Regarding Greene, part of me says he needs the experience and should stay in in Louisville for the rest of year and work on his ptich movement. The other part says he’s too valuable to risk and should sit out the rest of the season.
I’m hoping the Reds are more willing to release Moustakas now that it will mean eating just one year’s salary. After his ongoing struggles with health, weight, and effectiveness I have zero expectations that he’ll make the Reds a better team next year. I have waaay more confidence that Votto will come back strong and productive, even though that’s obviously not a lock. It costs the same for Moustakas to play somewhere else as it does for him to play poorly or ride the IL. I hope the Reds let him go.
I’d be stunned if Moose was released just because of the money
Votto is about to be 39 so I have have a hard time believing he;ll be anywhere near what he was
Not what he was in his prime, certainly, but just last year he was very good against RH pitching. A torn rotator cuff could explain a lot.
Presuming Greene is healthy, he is only going to get better if he pitches. There may well be some merit in leaving him on rehab to work on specific stuff at AAA; but, he needs to be pitching somewhere.
Regarding Moustakas, the best time to decide is next Spring. For a DH/1B, 34 is not too old to be productive. It’s possible his injuries have hurt his performance. So, the Reds should evaluate Moustakas in ST. If they believe we’re only going to get more of the same, they should release him then. The size of his contract should not be a factor.
This is good news. Priority one for Hunter Greene is health. I’m hoping he starts 30 games for the Reds for at least the next five years. He needs to get healthy now and prepare well in the offseason, hopefully learning what his body needs to be strong and ready every fifth day, even if that’s a little different from what other starters might need. If he doesn’t pitch for Cincinnati, or if he does, it’s only good if it’s part of getting and staying healthy.
If he is healthy…he needs to pitch in Cincinnati. He was going to be shut down due to innings limit anyway. Get him another 20 innings or so. Reduces need for limitation for next year.
As far as I’m concerned, he and Lodolo needed to start at AAA this season to get some more seasoning. Maybe move them up mid-season, but they needed to start there.
It would have been better if Greene and Lodolo started in AAA, but with injuries to Castillo and Minor, and Dunn the Reds hand was forced. That said I think both Greene and Lodolo have made some very good strides as Reds. I’m looking forward to seeing them, and Ashcraft in 23. Greene, Lodolo, Ashcraft, Diaz, Stephenson, and India are a solid core to build around. Hopefully we’ll be adding a few more names to that list next year.
It had slipped my mind that last night was Greene’s rehab. I dialed up the stream of the Louisville game in the top of the 1st (sans audio or captioning) and was thinking who is that pitching?!? He is darn good. Where has this guy been all year? Then I got a look at his profile and was like OK now I know where he has been all year. 😉
Lefty Kyle Freeland is pitching tonight so where will Bell play Steer? My guess is 1b.
Predicted lineup:
India 2b
Senzel Cf
Farmer 3b
Solano DH
Fairchild LF
Steer 1b
Aquino RF
Barrero SS
Robinson/Romine C
We can wish. 😉
When guys come up hot and Bell sits them, I always think of ‘Trader Jack’ McKeon when he was Reds mgr. He would almost always play a position player called up for performance reasons (vs injury replacement) as soon as the guy reported to the team.
If someone asked why he was playing the guy, Trader Jack would say it was because his bosses must have thought the guy was playing better than somebody already on the team or they wouldn’t have called the guy up. (And for the younger set, Trader Jack got that name when he had been a GM known for trading players)
Contrast that with Bell’s typically sitting the guy and saying he wants to let him get acclimated. And then as soon as the guy gets in and has a multi hit game, he will probably end up at the end of the bench for several days because no one has a scheduled day off.
Steer is starting at 3B tonight.
https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1565768766742478851
@BK>> Good. Krall and Bell must have had the same meeting of the minds they had when Barrero was recalled.
are you sure you posted this tentative lineup before the lineup was announced? you have the entire lineup, except using either catcher in ninth,
Nah..I missed it.
I had Aquino 7th and Steer 6th and steer at 1b.
I didn’t guess at catcher.
I’m still 0-fer the season predicting his lineups but I like this one a lot with Steer at 3b.
Just saw an article by C Trent on Steer. He is expected to play everyday and move around the diamond. C Trent has lots of quote from his minor league coaches and college coach as well. In college he played 3b his first 2 seasons but moved to SS because the other infielders were freshman and they wanted his leadership in the middle of the diamond.
This quote stands out from his college coach George Horton “. Its not that he couldn’t play the position( SS), but he is a superior third baseman.”
Horton also sensed that he was blocked in Minnesota with young guys succeeding at the MLB level in Jose Miranda, Luis Arraez, Gio Urshela and so he started making some calls to his pro connections and telling them if they needed a third baseman they should trade for Steer.
Great read from C trent if you have an Athletic subscription.
I’d rather play Steer at 3b everyday and let others move around the diamond. His college coach describes him as a superior third baseman. Reds could use a young superior third baseman as they transition to an new era.
Since the Reds moved Steer into 1B and LF, I’ve been thinking he was going to be a super utility. Steer, and Senzel replace Farmer, and Solano for the 23 Reds.
If they put Fraley in LF then Steer can get his starts when lefties are scheduled, as well as covering 3B, and SS.
Senzel can cover CF, 2B, and DH to help protect his health.
Stephenson can back up 1B, and DH when he’s not catching.
That just leaves RF uncovered, so 1 of Aquino/Fairchild/Hopkins/Gilliam could be the 26th man.
@ MBS
Agree with Reds looking at positional versatility with Steer and Senzel.
Is there a list somewhere of players the reds now have to protect from the rule 5 draft this off-season for the first time on the 40 man roster?
Thats going to play into roster construction or trades.
@Old, I don’t have it, but @Stock keeps track of that info over on the Reds Minor Leagues site. There are a significant amount of guys we will need to add to the 40 man, but we have a lot of guys that are very expendable in my eyes. I remember making my 23, 40 man and I had a several open spots for FA’s.
Its too easy for the Reds and Bell to plug him in at 3b every day for the rest of the season so they won’t.Unless Krall told him to do so Bell will come up with some genius of a plan with at least 5 reasons why not to play him at 3b.Just what he does.
Harkening back a few years to an infamous Jocketty quote referencing Jack Hannahan, “We got Kyle (Farmer) for that (3B)”.
Exactly.There is about as much as a chance as Farmer being moved off 3rd as there is Joey becoming a DH and setting against lefties.