The Cincinnati Reds will be playing two games today. This afternoon they will play the Seattle Mariners on the road at 3:10pm ET. Tonight they’ll take on Arizona at 8:05pm ET.
Reds (7-6-1) vs Seattle Mariners (5-6-1)
Reds |
Mariners |
|||
| 1 | Jonathan India | 2B | Kolten Wong | 2B |
| 2 | Tyler Stephenson | 1B | Ty France | 1B |
| 3 | Jake Fraley | LF | Jarred Kelenic | CF |
| 4 | Chad Pinder | RF | AJ Pollock | LF |
| 5 | Curt Casali | C | J.P. Crawford | SS |
| 6 | Kevin Newman | SS | Tom Murphy | C |
| 7 | Will Benson | DH | Kole Calhoun | RF |
| 8 | Stuart Fairchild | CF | Mike Ford | DH |
| 9 | Noelvi Marte | 3B | Colin Moran | 3B |
| 10 | Connor Overton | RHP | George Kirby | RHP |
Reserve players on today’s Reds roster:
Where to watch/listen/follow the game
The game will be on MLB.tv. It will also be on MLB Network on tape delay at 1am ET in case you’re a night owl and or would like to set your DVR for later viewing. There is no radio broadcast of this game.
Reds links and news
Nick Senzel will see games soon
After dealing with recovery from toe surgery, outfielder Nick Senzel is nearly ready to get into games this spring.
Nick Senzel could play in spring training games as soon as early next week, David Bell said.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) March 10, 2023
Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo have some of the best stuff in baseball
Fangraphs released a new section on their leaderboards today, looking at Stuff+ and it’s various breakdowns. Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo rank among the best in all of baseball in terms of Stuff+ when it comes to starting pitchers.
In case you missed it
Yesterday afternoon the Cincinnati Reds announced that Hunter Greene would be the starting pitcher for Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will be the 7th pitcher in the last eight years to start for the Reds on Opening Day. Luis Castillo started twice in the stretch, doing so in both 2019 and 2021.
I’m curious, why do the Reds seem so intent on moving Stephenson to 1B? What’s wrong with just leaving him at catcher? Especially now that the DH is a thing, if the idea is having him play 1B to give him a “break” from catching, that seems kind of pointless.
They want to keep his bat in the lineup and the more he’s behind the plate the higher his chances of injury are.
But that doesn’t answer the question posed by CI3J. DH gives him a break from catching. He doesn’t have to learn a new position to get a break from catching in the DH era. So why have him at 1B when you have a number of first baseman coming up. He can get injured playing 1B more easily than being DH.
So is the plan to move him completely off of catching and just be a first baseman? If they’re worried about injuries, why not just make him the full-time DH, then? David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez did it, so why not Stephenson?
But then that means the Reds need to find a long-term solution at catcher. That’s my main issue, I thought the catching position was solved for awhile with Stephenson there, but if they don’t want him catching, then I wonder what they plan to do about that position going forward.
One thing is Stephenson is agile enough to play defense, Ortiz never was Bd Martinez got to old to play third effectively. Martinez was a decent third baseman for a while, Ortiz was never good on defense.
We’ve talked about this before. Personally I think he should catch about 60 – 65 % of the time (around 98 – 106 games). As far as him being able to at least play 1B is wise. If he was just a full time DH it would limit the options of using others there from time to time as well. It would be nice if he could play other positions on rare occasions as Johnny Bench did. Bench also played 1B, 3B, RF, CF, and LF but I doubt TS is as versatile. Of course Bench never had the opportunity to DH so 1B and DH would probably be enough for Stephenson to keep him fresh. I understand catchers don’t catch every day anymore. Balance is the key. Bench was awesome and the all time greatest. However, since retiring he’s had both hips and knees replaced. Probably the same thing will happen to you know who from the Cardinals.
They want to play Stephenson some at 1B, because they need alternatives at first base both this year and in the future. Votto will not be available early; at age 39, he will need plenty of rest, anyway: he can no longer hit lefties; and he has become a pretty gruesome defensively. CES has some development to go; Myers will be used in RF, especially against LH pitching. Stephenson will be needed some at 1B this year by default.
And it isn’t just the potential for injury at catcher, either. Catching 9-inning baseball games in mid-summer is draining. Even if he isn’t specifically injured, catching all the extra games would wear down both him and his bat.
I think it is more about keeping Tyler’s legs fresh. I thought it was interesting on the Cubs TV broadcast yesterday Tucker Barnhart reported how much better his legs have felt after a game with the games being about a half hour shorter with the pitch clocks. Might be an unanticipated positive from the clock.
All that can be done simply by having a capable back-up. just find a guy good enough to catch half the games and Stephenson can catch the others and on days he isnt iplay 1B or DH. The Reds have two guys already on the team capable enough.
Votto is a gruesome defender? Come on, are we watching the same games?
Amen brother
#LetStephensonCatch
Jimbo44CN…if you watch Votto and think his defense is anything other than gruesome, then no, we are not watching the same games. Votto is not now, nor has he ever been a fundamentally sound 1B’man.
@THR,
Overall, I agree about Votto’s defense. However, he was among the best at picking and digging out throws for a number of seasons which may be the single most important defensive duty for a 1B.
He was above average to average in his prime, now he’s probably below average, but we are talking about 1B where there’s a million lumbering behemoths who are atrocious on defense. I think peoples opinions of Votto’s defense are way overblown. He doesnt need to be amazing over there, what he needs to do is hit.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/benchjo01.shtml look at Bench numbers 1968 to 1977 (first 10 full years) then 1978 to 1983 (last six full years).
10 years of catching often (nearly every day some years) took its toll.
Carlton Fisk had a longer career because he played 1B and SH along with C in AL.
JB’s career took a drastic turn after his lung cancer surgery after the ’72 season. By his own admission he was never quite the same after that. It is true, however, that catcher’s bodies do wear down over time, both within seasons and for careers. This is not the case yet with Stephenson since he is only in his third year. The concussions are the big issue.
Correct that Bench was never the same after the lung surgery as he was before the surgery. However, the lung lesion which was removed during the surgery was declared benign and not cancerous.
“…He finally had an operation on December 9. The surgeon had to make a 12-inch incision under his right arm and break a rib, finally extracting a benign lesion that Bench likely got from breathing an airborne fungus.
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/johnny-bench/
True but he still had good numbers 1973 through 1977. He dropped off noticeably in 1978 through 1983.
Will Smith caught 105 games last year
No one catches 145 games
Stephenson acknowledges that. First base is because hes a competitor and no 25 year old wants to be a DH. They want to be on the field. Stephenson would not be ok with 60% DH and 40% catcher
Good question CI3J. Stephenson is a top 10 offensive catcher, as a first baseman or DH he is merely average. It’s an over reaction. The Reds are essentially saying, we will never again have an offensive catcher, because if he can hit, he is too valuable to catch. Also, it’s a mistake to think just anyone can play first base at the major league level.
I can’t imagine Stephenson is too thrilled about it, because it definitely diminishes his value.
Good thing this front office wasn’t around when Johnny Bench came up.
I know people here like Curt Casali, but he offers absolutely nothing offensively.
Tell ‘im Wash
Overton seems to be pitching himself out of consideration. Sadly, last year is looking more and more like the outlier. I’m still waiting to see if Ashcraft bounces back. But, right now the starting rotation isn’t looking as good as last year.
Overton trying to make the team, Ashcraft is working on improving some pitches as his spot is secure.
Agreed, it is secure. However, he hasn’t pitched well since returning from the IL last year.
They’re missing one more 1 or 2 type at the top, same as the bullpen. Injuries could unravel this rotation really quickly.
As for the Reds’ parent club, its really nice to see Kelenic hitting so well. This kid has struggled mightily in the ML’s, and a productive year would help the M’s out a lot. Of note, both Kelenic and Senzel were listed in some recent article, maybe MLB.com, as both guys who were near the end of their chances as being more than what they’ve showed. So, I guess it is good news in a way that Kelenic looks like he’s finding his way.
Plus, a Leo Rivas sighting.
The pitching department, as of now, looks very thin in both starters and relievers. Among injured and underperforming pitchers there’s very little left, a tough season lies ahead again.
I agree. But, many of us always suspected that, of the numerous pitchers trying to bounce back from last year’s IL, a good number would likely fail. Sadl, the same may be true of the position players, e.g. Votto. So, yes a tough season ahead. Quite possibly another 100 loss season .
Possible, but 100 losses are hard to come by unless you really try. I expect a somewhat opposite outcome – they likely won’t be 19 games under in mid-April, and enough of the young talent will begin producing in August/Sept. that they shouldn’t simply surrender down the stretch.
They were 7 games under .500 from May thru August. -31 games in April and September. Yes – they don’t get the lopsided division schedule this year, but they should still level off somewhere between the horrid bookend months and the slightly bad mid-season.
72-90 would be a good start to 2024. 67-95 is probably realistic.
In December, I thought it looked terrible. In March, I cannot believe the difference in my outlook. There is impressive, very impressive talent at the upper level of the farm system. I don’t ever remember a Reds system like this before. Hope springs eternal. In December if felt awful.
Could be. But the rotation last year was clearly better until the trade deadline . Though the BP wasn’t good and looks like it may not be this year either.
Sims is clearly pitching his way to Louisville, at least in a real world situation. He needs to be in AAA until he proves he can get somebody, anybody, out.
I still live in my bubble longing for the days when the best 25 made the team and nobody was guaranteed anything. At least our spring trip to Louisville should give us some pretty good players to watch!
Totally agree Doc. Best 26 should be there on opening day. As for Sims he won’t go to AAA but I wonder if they keep in Arizona for extra time.
Benson remains a shining light.
I am really, really worried that Senzel coming back will mean Benson does not make the team, even though Benson is clearly a better CF than Senzel, and might possibly be more valuable offensively than Senzel too.
Here’s a factoid for you: Do you know what Senzel’s career WAR is? It’s -1.8.
Yes, NEGATIVE 1.8.
And do you know what Senzel’s highest OPS+ is in a season?
87 OPS+, in his first season. After that, his next highest is 67(!).
I mean, good golly Miss Molly. This guy is a liability, when he’s even healthy enough to play, which isn’t often. And this is his Age-28 season, which means he’s entering his “prime” years and is supposed to be putting up his best numbers.
I wonder how many more chances he’s going to get? Meanwhile, I’m ready to move on from him and give Benson a shot.
Yes, and everyone wanted Aquino gone last year despite the fact that Senzel’s career metrics were worse. AA wasn’t someone to build a team around and neither is Senzel. Keep Benson. Send Senzel to Louisville.
I mean, seriously, what does Senzel bring to the Reds?
He doesn’t hit for power, he doesn’t get on base, he doesn’t hit for average, he’s not a great fielder… What does he do?
I get that he’s been injured a lot, but at some point, you just have to accept that he’s injury-prone and there’s nothing you can do about it. And it’s not like he’s Ken Griffey Jr., someone who showed he could excel in MLB and so was worth waiting for to not be injured all the time.
Really, I think the only reason Senzel is still on the team is because he’s a former top prospect. Certainly his performance at the MLB level doesn’t warrant a guaranteed spot on the roster.
Completely agree. I believe Senzel has a minor league option left so he can definitely be sent to Louisville to start the season if he is healthy. If he gets into games next week, he doesn’t have much time to show he is a better option than Friedl, Benson, or even Fairchild.
I agree. I know injuries are part of the game but how long is to long? He hasn’t shown anything to believe he needs to be playing every day.
I think this is Senzel’s last shot, but I sure wouldn’t take him over Benson at this point. Nick Senzel reminds me of Austin Kearns, he has the potential to be good in several different areas, but ends up being a little below average overall. Like Austin, I don’t think Nick Senzel even likes baseball.