The Cincinnati Reds rotation took another blow this past week when Nick Lodolo was placed on the injured list with tendinosis and later a stress reaction in his tibia. For a rotation that has already released one pitcher, and has had plenty of struggles along the way, it’s looking like it could be a situation where the team tries to hot glue together what they can in the short term.
Over his last three starts Graham Ashcraft has allowed 18 runs in 12.1 innings. After having a strong April, Hunter Greene has allowed 13 runs in 15.0 innings over his three starts in May. Luke Weaver is coming off of his best start of the season, but after five starts his ERA sits at 6.26 on the year. Brandon Williamson had a strong big league debut, but his ERA was 6.62 in Triple-A this season. And now it would seem that Ben Lively is joining the rotation. He’s pitched well in Louisville and he’s allowed one run so far in 5.1 innings with the Reds, but he’s also a 31-year-old who was in Triple-A for the first month of the season because the Reds thought the Luis Cessa’s and Connor Overton’s of the world were better options as starting pitchers.
The depth in the minor leagues isn’t there to handle it. Not that many teams even have five quality starting pitchers, much less more than that to call upon. But Cincinnati had to go purchase a players contract from the Long Island Ducks this past week just to have enough pitchers in Louisville and then call up a pitcher from extended spring training to start a game who had two career starts in 100 career games and had also never pitched above High-A. Whether it’s the rotation or bullpen, the Reds options in Triple-A are quite limited at this point.
In the rotation you’ve got Andrew Abbott and maybe Levi Stoudt. The bullpen in Louisville just got an interesting arm promoted from Double-A Chattanooga in Eduardo Salazar. And there could be options to look at with Daniel Duarte or recently acquired on waivers Frank German. But that might be it at this point in time.
The Yankees are coming to town
With attendance not doing so hot for Cincinnati this year, it will be interesting to see what the numbers look like this weekend with the New York Yankees coming to town. They have a national fan base who tend to show up to road games. Toss in that the Reds will be wearing their city connect uniforms and maybe you’ll get some interest from Cincinnati fans to show up and see those, too.
The Yankees are currently 25-20. That would lead the National League Central. But since the Yankees play in the American League East they find themselves in 4th place and 7.5 games back of Tampa Bay. Their lineup is feast or famine. Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Judge both have an OPS over .900. Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu are both over .750. No other regular is above .700 and several are under .600. The Yankees starting pitching is similar. Gerrit Cole has an ERA of 2.01. Recently suspended for 10 games for having a foreign substance on his hand, Domingo German has an ERA of 3.75. The other three starters they’ve used this season have ERA’s of 5.20, 5.53, and 6.30.
The Yankees have only announced one pitcher for the series – Luis Severino for Sunday, and it will be his 2023 debut. Clarke Schmidt, if kept on regular rest, would be lined up for Friday. The last time through the rotation the Yankees used an opener for the spot following Schmidt. Cincinnati, at least on paper, gets a bit lucky in avoiding both Gerrit Cole and Domingo German in this series.
Big Time Arm Strength
Yesterday Casey Schmitt, a rookie for the San Francisco Giants that is out to a hot start over the course of his first nine games, set a new high for Major League Baseball infielders. He made a throw across the infield at 94.1 MPH. That’s a season best for big league infielders in 2023.
If we start to toss in throws from Triple-A, which are now being tracked by the same Hawkeye system that’s in place in MLB….. well, that 94.1 MPH throw would only rank 8th. Sorry, it would only rank 8th on the list of throws by Elly De La Cruz this season.
Brian Kennedy from the Long Island Ducks could be the Reds NEXT Superstar!!
Pickin’s are thin.
I wish Tony Santillan would lose some weight, heal up his knee, and go back to starting in AAA and then come up to the Reds to start. Wishing on a star…..
I don’t think we are going to see Dunn, Antone, etc with the Reds again this year. I think Antone has likely hurt his arm for good, and Dunn has a chronic shoulder problem that probably will require surgery, and that may also finish his pitching career.
I think Abbott is up with the Reds by late June. Just guessing here.
I’m with you on all of this.
Santillan needs to take his conditioning more serious if he expects to have an MLB career.
If we don’t gt some of these 60 day DL guys back in June (Antone, Santillan, Overton, Dunn, SanMartin) its going to be a looong year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lodolo is shut down for 90 days or more – stress reaction in your landing leg for a super tall pitcher is serious. Means you are close to having a fracture.
Doug – any update on the 15 day DL pitchers, Legumina and Cruz. Those 2 appeared promising.
Whenever I see fans saying a professional athlete needs to lose weight, I kinda wonder if they’d feel differently after sneaking into the locker room and standing next to them with their shirt off. I think it would change a lot of people’s opinions on that, some guys just have large frames even when theyre fit.
Santillan last time I heard weighed 285 lbs. Unless he’s 7’4″ or so that’s pretty fat don’t you think?
not necessarily
That’s a lot of weight for a baseball player to be carrying around. Kind of hard to stay healthy.
For a reliever? also not really.
The fattest athletes in sports are in the NFL, and its because their focus is strength not endurance. I don’t see why a reliever can’t be viewed in the same lens, he’s not in there to steal bases. There’s countless examples of guys who have stayed healthy with heavier builds. On the flip side, 95% of the guys on the Reds IL are slim, so I’m not sure your argument tracks.
Santillan is 6’3 285. That’s overweight. Shirt on or off. I’m 6’4 220. If I put on 65 pounds I would be well overweight. If I still was a MP in the Air Force I would be overweight at 220. Anybody with half a brain can see Santillan is overweight. Heck Moose was overweight last year and he knew it. That’s why he lost 20 pounds. No team was giving him a shot. You don’t lose 20 because you feel fit. Even C. C. Sabathia was 6’5 over 300 and even he said he was way overweight. 2020 you are clueless and probably overweight
I would say having to come down on that knee or bending your back as much as a reliever has to do would welcome injury with that kind of weight. Of course a baseball season is a lot longer than football. From what I’ve heard that extra weight he’s put on hasn’t exactly been muscle either.
Could you give us these countless examples of overweight guys ?
haha, I’m probably one of the most physically active commenters here, but why you’d even make a stupid claim about my weight is beyond me. I’ve come to expect very poorly thought out insults from you regularly. It makes you sound….well….
Just for you JB, I dont care about your opinion enough to try harder than this:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/747116-mlb-power-rankings-45-baseball-heavyweights-worth-their-girth
@2020ball What’s funny about that Bleacher Report article is that almost everyone of the guys referenced is prefaced, while he’s having a rough go of it this year, or the last couple years, this individual has been dominant for 7 or 8 years. LOL. Nevermind that for the 1st half of those years the individual was actually much more fit and much younger. Come on man, how in the world can you make an argument that it’s okay to be an overweight athlete. Geez, pick your arguments. And by the way, the original poster referenced Santillan and his weight, so that he could work on being a starter again; not a reliever.
I didnt even read it, didnt see a reason to. Santillan’s not old, so I’m missing your point and 7 to 8 years of dominance sounds amazing to me.
He’s been starting at that weight for years mind you. And its very possible his listed weight isn’t his actual weight. But fine, he’s overweight and fat. I like any of you would love to see him shed a few pounds, but some guys lose some of the power and strength they had when they slim down. I don’t view him as a starter, I think his best ceiling is in the bullpen.
I dont care if its a well picked argument either, I mostly just like arguing against the popular opinions to see if people can even defend them, because they’re mostly just repeating what they think all their friends will agree with. If I’m wrong, cool no problem.
@2020>> Fangraphs still has Santillan listed at 6’3″/ 240Lb. That’s a pretty good indication he has put on 40-50Lbs since some prior date since BBRef, official MLB, and MiLB pages all have him at the higher weight. 240 is a pretty hefty weight in its own right for a 6’3″ athlete who isn’t a football player or wrestler.
It is not hard to imagine a guy going from 240 to 285 if he has a back issue that causes him to stop conditioning work but at the same time does not alter his diet.
And it isn’t difficult to see how a guy at 285 would stress his knees with the activity of professional baseball pitching where much of the power comes not from the arm but from the pelvic “bucket” and legs.
Yep
If he’s put on 40 lbs since his injury, then of course he needs to come down to his playing weight. I haven’t seen him in forever so I’m just going on how he looked when he was pitching. He was big but I didn’t see any red flags with his mass at the time. I’m admittedly less concerned than others.
Maybe the main reason I started us on this pointless rabbit hole is when thinner guys get injured or dont perform you see a litany of reasons as to why but if its a larger guy its always he’s too fat. Why not the other stuff too?
But anyway, its whatever. I’ll not string this further, I expect and invite people to think I’m “clueless” so no harm no foul.
Well, Aaron Harang weighed something like 270. He was tall, but he wasn’t svelte. Early Wynn was pretty hefty. Can’t remember his name, but the Reds had a reliever some years ago who made a point of sprinting in from the bullpen and jiggled when he did. Weight alone isn’t enough information: muscle weighs more than fat, and some weight lifters and football players weigh a lot without being fat. I don’t think Santillan is in that category, though, and I’m not sure that that sort of musculature would be helpful to a pitcher. And I just remembered who the relief pitcher was: Todd Coffey.
Baseball is very democratic, in that you don’t necessarily have to be “in shape” to be an “athlete.” You just have to be good at one thing: hit the ball, throw the ball hard. 🙂
Mickey Lolich was a great example of a guy that looked kind of…overweight, but was actually a heckuva pitcher. But because of his mechanics (physical motion), his weight did not really impact his knees, joints, ect. John Kruk used to make fun of the fact…”I’m not an athlete, I’m a baseball player”.
But Tony Santillan is over weight. His weight is giving him knee problem, because pitching and driving off his leg, etc., has too much weight on that knee. I am not an orthopedic doctor, but, well, he could stand to lose about 40-50 lbs.
I go back to why trade Sonny Gray or Luis Castillo. Or even Tyler Mahle. Keeping one of those guys would or could stable the staff. Reds got prospects in those trades and some are now up. Hindsight right.
Still they didn’t do much in off season to address the starting staff. And here we are.
Agree – 1 of those guys needed to be kept. As we saw, Gray had little trade value and had an affordable option for 2023. He was the one to keep. Krall had his orders to cut payroll and Gray was traded for Chase Petty – who will take 3 more years, if ever, to make the majors.
Its beginning to look like Roster management is not Nick Krall’s expertise. Last year, we had no MLB caliber starting catching depth and this year we have no MLB caliber starting pitching depth. We could all see there was no pitching depth coming into this year. Several 4A type pitchers should have been signed to stash in Louisville.
I’m pretty sure that Gray was injured, and he’d lost effectiveness late in the year. Castillo was, by the Reds lights, going to be unaffordable. I don’t know why they traded Mahle. I certainly agree that those guys–or any one of them–would be helpful this year and possibly beyond, but the prospects we got in return for them are pretty exciting, and it’s worth remembering that the position player cupboard was, if not bare (EDLC was already in the system), at least pretty thin.
With perfect hindsight, yes, it would have been great to keep Sonny Grey, and who knows if the Reds ever talked seriously to Luis Castillo’s agent about a long term contract.
Branch Rickey, former Brooklyn Dodgers GM, had an aphorism about trading players. Better to trade a player a year too soon than a year too late. Sonny still has some baseball left in him, but who knows how much.
As for Ashcraft and Greene….yes, they are going to be erratic…again! this year. I don’t know what the issue is. It would take someone who really understands ML pitching to dissect what is going on with those guys.
Lodolo has always seemed a little injury prone. He will heal, it’s not like it was TJ surgery.
Let’s see if Williamson can stay steady in his next few turns, and does not return to “No control” Williamson.
Kinda makes us yearn for Chase Anderson, huh?
Well Mahle isn’t helping anybody this year. TJ surgery will keep him down so the trade for Steer and Strand is completely lopsided. Even if he wasnt injured it appears to favor the Reds.
Speaking of pitching I kind of think we’d like to have Moreta back from the Pirates. They got the best end of that deal don’t you think? I don’t think they’d take Newman back.
They would if they wanted an infielder that can hit lefties
CES isnt even in the show yet, saying its a hands-down win is wildly premature IMO.
Moreta in 17 games is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA after 20 innings pitched with 29 SO. You can throw in a save or two as well.
I made no comment on Moreta, the Reds have done well to break relievers into the majors and struggle only to find success on another team. We shall see how he does the rest of the season. I prefer not to view deals with the benefit of hindsight as well.
Yeah I know. I’m just saying right now it looks a lot better for the Pirates. I wasn’t a big fan of bringing Newman here. I was happy we traded Farmer to give Barrero the SS position then practically the same day we traded for Newman. I don’t think he’s been that much of an asset. Oh well. What’s done is done. 🙂
Newman just needs to play his role well and I’m fine with him, hit lefties and play decent defense off the bench. He’s been about what we should’ve expected so far, Barrero’s shown signs but that’s not enough for me to just hand him a starting role. Barrero just needs to clean up his defensive fundamentals and hell get plenty of playing time.
Mahle is getting Tommy John surgery and netted the Reds Steer and CES so that trade is already a win for the team. The other two…yikes. Definitely could have afforded Castillo’s extension. Gray is pitching well this year also and would have been an excellent mentor for the big three young guys.
Have to wonder if the Reds will make a trade for a young proven ace with multiple years of control this winter for a guy like Latos after the 2011 season.
Steer and CES looks like a good trade ….at this point. But I am the one “not so fast” in the crowd. Don’t forget the Phils were dangling Logan O Hoppe as bait for a mid tier playoff pitcher. Krall chose the Twins offer instead and 1 day later OHoppe went to the Angels for Syndegard. OHoppe was the top rated C prospect at AAA but Krall didn’t see the need for a C. We are leading going around the first turn but Stephenson’s longevity may not be what Krall thinks.
We haven’t even tried to see what Stephenson’s longevity is, everyone overreacted to some freak injuries and haven’t even given him a chance. Turns out playing him anywhere other than catcher with his current offensive numbers looks like a huge mistake.
#LetStephensonCatch
The Mahle trade may prove to be Krall’s best. CES will be up before long, moving Steer to DH (where he belongs, being that he’s a poor fielder) and moving Stephenson back to catcher, where he belongs. Bob is right that Stephenson’s longevity as a catcher may be questionable, but where else can you play him? And I don’t think he looked good at first during the spring. Trade him? What the Reds need is a left-handed hitting catcher. I wonder if Ruiz from the Nationals would be enough of a return.
The Reds offered Luis an extension on similar terms but he refused it. This led the Reds to trade in 22 to maximize the potential return.
Rob – O’Hoppe was traded to the Angels for Brandon Marsh – looks like an even trade so far. Not sure what they gave up for Noah but I bet it wasn’t much for a low quality rental.
Those were good trades, but the real failure was not filling the holes with impact FA’s in the offseason. 2023 is showing that the NL Central was there for the taking, but BOB decided to protect his pockets instead of giving the fans a good team. I really do wish he’d sell the team to an owner who has a desire to win as his main priority.
Good points Kevin. Had the Reds kept and extended Luis Castillo, the starting pitching would now be point of strength instead of a weakness now.
Of course, it’s always possible Luis Castillo didn’t want to sign an extension with Cincinnati. But as you point out, the Reds did very little to address the starting rotation last winter, which I believe borders on gross negligence.
There are some here who justify it by saying the Reds wasn’t planning on winning this year anyway. Anyone in the Red’s front office who thinks like should have been fired yesterday. How fans support that type of approach is beyond me.
nd maybe they don’t think that the pitchers available would be worth the cost.
I have no idea what happened to the rest of my comment.
Castillo has been tanking of late, but still has a solid ERA. Gray for Cy Young! Reds can sign him (4 years/$60 mil.) in the off-season to mentor the young’uns. They can then trade Greene to the Angels for Adell to make room for Gray.
So correct. Where would we be right now with Gray and Casitillo. First place would probably not be far away.
Probably wouldn’t hurt, but you would have 2 aces (probably pitching slighly worse for us), expiring contracts maybe you extend one…
Okay while I rather be in first place
Its okay, we had an akward rebuild but…
Castillo and Gray both netted us
Petty (potential ace or solid SP later 20 years old while castillo is 30)
Marte, Arroyo (potential superstar players, marte seems at least above average floor)
Stoudi, moore probably avergeish arms. young depth
I mean the rebuild is coming together, you have tons of money after this season and really all we need IMO is a top SP signing, and maybe bullpen depth.
How are we not going to win with guys like Elly, CES, McLain, Steer, Marte, Greene, Ashcraft, Lodolo, Abbott, Fraley, Frediel, Diaz leading the charge, India and stephonson might not be apart of next best reds team.
I USUALLY go to one game a series but will skip out on this weekends game. just don’t feel like being out numbered by a bunch of new yorkers yelling lets go Yankees IN MY HOME TOWN. I think I’ll pass
I’ll be up from Atlanta for the annual pilgrimage this weekend. I’ll be joining the “let’s shout them down” section of Reds fans for all three games regardless of the outcomes, but also hoping to see some winning Reds baseball.
What part of Atl? I’m in the same boat.
If the Reds are counting on City Connect unis to increase attendance then that is beyind foolish. Increased jersey/hat sales, sure, but attendance? Good grief…
But the Yankees will put some butts in the seats. Their fans will show, and more Reds fans should show just to root against the villains. Or at least that is the “Heel” theory of pro wrestling…
My wife and I will be there tomorrow. It won’t be because of those ugly uniforms.
Ugly uniforms and a ridiculous promotion video: a guy with a bad beard and a bad NY accent, and several Reds players flexing their muscles. Lame. Makes me wonder who the team’s target audience is…NY fans?
Totally agree JMB. I thought the unis were suppose to “connect” with the city? I see no connection with the City of Cincinnati.
I have lived in Cincinnati for nearly 50 years and can count on one hand the number of times I have heard it being referred to as “Cincy” by a native.
You are correct, these uniforms were obviously designed by someone who lives in New York or LA. The person likely has never even been to Cincinnati.
Could have been worse I guess, at least the designer didn’t go with “ Da Nati”
I saw them and thought….”Where’s the wishbone C”, which has been a symbol of the Cincinnati Reds for a very long time.
My prediction is that those unis won’t be around for more than a season.
The other issue with that city connect promotional video: it leads the viewer to believe that the current Reds team is the same as the oldest team in history. We know, of course, that original Redlegs team moved to Boston…and then Milwaukee…and then Atlanta.
Does anyone know if there will only be the black version of the new uniforms? If so gets really hot in summer and black is a real bad choice.
Doug – just for a refresher this may be a good time to review the return status of all the injured pitchers – Antone, Santillan, Dunn, VladGut, SanMartin, anyone I miss, MiLBers, etc.. Various options from starters to long-relievers to one-inning guys there. Aside from trades, will there be 50-100ip from that collection anytime before, say, August?
There really isn’t much update on any of them in terms of timetables.
OK – thanks, and I forgot Overton and I’m sure another 2 or 3. Sounds like it will be a long month on the mound.
Dunn should be ready by mid-season…they say. Overton’s return is not so far off…but he has to pitch better than he has thus far this season. Antone, too, will be back pretty soon, but he won’t be a starter ever again. We’ll see Vlad in ’24.
Overton is on the 60 day IL. It was April 15th or so when he was originally put on the 15 day IL. Thus mid June is his earliest possible return presuming he is physically ready. However, Bell told reporters last week that mid July was a more probable return date for Overton.
https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/reds-connor-overton-out-until-july/
Still – a long month ahead, likely more – anyone confident any of them get substantial innings in July?
I think throwback uniforms to ‘76 WS would’ve been cool for this weekend
Absolutely.
Along with the Black Spikes.
…and no facial hair? 🙂
Only long sideburns….
Watching several Bats games this year I doubt there’s much pitching help down there considering how often they get beat up. Abbott and Stoudt will be up eventually then what do they have left?
The Yankee series is a meeting of two historic Cincinnati baseball families: the Bell’s and the Boone’s.
Will Boone survive his current NY contract (thru ’24, option for ’25) or get fired? Will he be the Reds next manager? Will Bell get a couple more years, now that the team is coming together and the future looks bright?
The Reds really let down the team, and fans by not getting any proven quality MLB pitchers. I am optimistic that by the end of the year or by 24 we will have depth with Abbott, Williamson, Phillips, and Richardson on the horizon.
Hopefully though the Reds don’t count on them to be the only answer, and sign a legit FA in 24, and, or trade for one today! There’s got to be an upgrade out there that the Reds could trade for.
If the right trade is there for an outfielder or starting pitcher, make it 100% percent. I dont think this division will stay winnable all year and someone will eventually seperate themselves, so now is the time to strike. Looking for a Gray type deal for a guy with multiple years of control. Prospects are great and all but its time to start to open that window for the team’s younger core, especially if the team is still hangin around at the allstar break. I’m not sure I’m as confident as you that there “has to be a deal out there”, if there’s a deal that doesnt set the rebuild back and instead builds upon it I’m all for it, but those are the hardest to find. Stand pat if you can’t find one.
slight amendment: I see you meant the deal has to be there in the offseason, my mistake.
@2020 you had me right to begin with. “ sign a legit FA in 24, and, or trade for one today!” I think they should make a trade now.
“I’m all for it, but those are the hardest to find. Stand pat if you can’t find one.“
The reason I said “and, or” is the same as why you said the above.
Every team is looking for pitching. That means whoever is selling is sitting pretty. Teams are going to overpay. In saying that, we should be good. No way Bob is overpaying for anything. One thing I will say is, as much crap as Krall takes on here, the guy is doing great in my opinion. He has made great trades and doesn’t have squat for money to get FAs.
Krall has done terrific for what he gets…still would of loved to get a veteran SP like Wacha to help bridge, or not trade anderson…
I wouldn’t trade anybody IMO, I mean marte is the same age as Elly, they seem like destined above average-superstar players.
If I am trading anyone its players that are completely blocked, torres, cahallan, Benson or Hopkins possible? I would probably stick to INF prospects that are not Elly, CES, McLain, Marte, Arroyo.
I wouldn’t be against packaging a group such as Stewart JR. (idk what it is but I don’t like him, he is grown out his size and probably is a future 1B, CES gots that job),
So stewart, torres, and hopkins/benson for possible a decent SP? probably would net us something???
For me, the only tradeable asset (because Abbott, CES, EDLC, and McClain are off-limits) that wouldn’t weaken the lineup now would be Senzel or India. Maybe the front office thinks they caught lightning in a bottle with Senzel and can sell while he has some actual value….I know I’m thinking that way. It would allow for India to shift to 3b and open up 2b for McClain. In return all I’d need is a controllable reliever with some track record of success. With one trade you address two weaknesses—prop up the pitching staff and improve the infield defense.
Abbott and EDLC are off limits for me, everyone else is fair game. CES looks like the biggest chip they have. Not a clear defensive position nor the K% I’d like to see before I anoint him untouchable.
Senzel and Barrero would look great in Marlins uniforms! Too bad the Reds missed out on Lopez from them. (Where would the Twins be without Gray and Lopez?)
It’s a bit discouraging to see the reality laid out in Doug’s article. It’s not going to be solved without spending some real money, not dumpster diving. The long-term outlook for the host of pitchers on the IL, is in my opinion, not encouraging either. Some of those pitchers will simply never matter. The bigger issue to me is the question of what is happening with the big 3. Lodolo can probably be chalked up to injury. But the other two? Seems like a failure of execution/coaching. They are actually worse right now than they were most of last year.
I personally haven’t seen anything thats surprised me from the big 3, the team gambled that they would magically make the rotation palpable and never get injured. I still think Lodolo has the highest ceiling, Ashcraft just needs consistency and to pace himself better, and Greene needs a third pitch. I didnt assume they’d suddenly be aces in their second years, some growing pains were to be expected. The problem always has been the Reds elected not to supplement the top of the rotation and its exposing their youth. This happens to darn near all young pitchers, the ones that meet your expectations are very rare.
I don’t disagree. Though I think Ashcraft is the most concerning. His walks and SOs are both up as is his FB% while is GB% is down. Whether a change to his pitching approach, his own or the coaches, a statistical blip, etc., Ashcraft is more effective keeping the ball on the ground and limiting his pitches.
I thought that Lodolo was our safest bet as a quality pitcher in 23. Maybe he would have been with out the injury. Who knows?
This team is still a work in progress. We have JI, TS, JF, TF, SS, MM so there’s 6 of an everyday 9. We have JB and NS that’s 2 of 4 bench guys. We have HG, NL, GA, that ‘s 3 of 5 rotation spots. AD, LS, AY, BF, IG that’s 5 of 8 bullpen guys.
So 16 of 26 players that seem to belong, or 61% of a good team. EDLC, CES, ABBOTT might be added soon, so 3 more making us 73% of a good team. We’re going to need a few pleasant surprises to really become a good team in 23. That could come by trade, or a surprise pieces like if Salazar, and Hopkins can play up here like they’ve played in AA, and AAA.
I don’t see them being a particularly good team this year. Though maybe 100 losses is off the table – at least at the moment. Is that due to performance or scheduling breaks? Regardless, not enough pitching to make a divisional run. Still big roster holes. Myers looks like a bust. Ramos, not the one. And there’s still management issues from the field to the FO. Not to mention cheap owners.
No we are not good, we are lacking but a trade or 2 and a few prospect pop, and we could be pretty decent.
Time to start scouting the Florence Y’alls!
That stat on ELDC is insane. If he harnesses the strike zone, there appears to be no limit with him.
He appears to be doing that so far. It was the one tool I was worried about but never thought he couldnt add given his age and athleticism. All that and he’s still young for his level. I might be more excited to see him than I was Bruce/Votto when they were coming up, that’s saying a lot.
What about the disastrous free agent hiring of Myers?How is he still in the starting lineup? I guess they need to justify paying him $7.5 million. Imagine if that money had been used to retain Gray or Castillo or to acquire a pitcher instead. As a loyal Redlegs fan since Klu, Gus Bell and Puddinhead Jones in 1953, it is getting hard to keep the faith with all the bungling going on by management.
No signing for that amount of money can be considered disastrous. In terms of what teams are paying for free agents, the Reds are paying Wil Myers roughly the amount of a bench player – even if bench players these days are almost exclusively made up of pre-free agency players who don’t make any real money.
Right. Seemed like a good value pick at the time. Very disappointing, who knows what’s going on. A slump that lasts 1/4 of the season +/- 3-4 days but as David Bell says “no doubt he will find it… some time”. Looks like the well meaning but obviously overmatched Akiyama saga but it will only last one year. Krall has done pretty well, although it is hard to explain (as many others have noted) the lack of OF “training” of upcoming prospects. But, Krall is there and I am not. Lots of marbles to shoot before next year for sure.
Wow! Somebody older than me on this site! I remember Klu, Gus Bell and others when I first started rooting for the Reds in 1960!
I think that the answer for a starting pitcher if you want to be honest as a fan and the Reds organization and play it more like a Tampa Bay type organization meaning play to your strengths and not to sentimentality. Over the next couple of weeks you start looking to trade your leadoff hitter and starting 2nd baseman, and former Rookie of the Year, for a starting pitcher. How good of pitcher can you get I don’t know, I’m sure Doug would have a much better idea than I would. Then slide Mclain over to 2nd and bring up ELDC to play short. Tampa Bay traded away there starting shortstop Wille Adames, and brought up Wander Franco, they played to there organizational strengths.
Hunter badly needs to learn a third pitch. Since Ashcraft’s cutter breaks like a slider rather than side2side like a cutter, it’s easy pickings for hitters willing to take singles and doubles when it’s up in the zone. I don’t know how that changes, or how he has a major league career very long because of it.
Just hope Abbott, Petty, Phillips, Lyon turn out well now
The one thing I see among some fans of the reds. If a player struggles or doesn’t perform in his first 2 seasons. They are ready to give up on him. Trade him or demote him.
What happens if McLain goes 1-12, or Cruz comes up and goes 2-20.
I have already seen Steer isn’t great, Stephenson isn’t good or trade him or don’t sign him to a extension.
Trust the process
DE LA CRUZ.
This is not difficult.
I would appreciate if you get off my my case. As it’s not appropriate.
Seems like you are singling me out. I don’t appreciate that
I would appreciate it if you would call players by their names. And yes, I’m singling you out because you’ve been told multiple times by multiple people to call a guy by his actual name. And you’ve not done that. It’s bad enough that it’s just disrespectful to the player, but it’s also more confusing when you call the guy by the name of an actual different player on the team.
Fix it, dude. It’s not difficult.