The Cincinnati Reds have sent infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand on a rehab assignment. He will be in Arizona and playing with the Arizona Complex League team in rookie ball to begin his assignment tonight. Their game will be at 9pm ET tonight, and the only way you can follow along if you choose to try is via a box score/gameday. There is no radio or video broadcast available for games in this league.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a good spring training this year, hitting .280/.339/.560 in 20 games played. That initially carried over to the regular season as he went 4-8 with a double and a home run in the first two games of the season. But then he went into a big slump, going 5-49 (.102) over the next 13 games. He was placed on the injured list after that with low back inflammation.
He hasn’t played since April 16th, so he’s missed the last five weeks of the season while recovering from the back issue. Given how much time he missed he may spend a bit of time rehabbing his way back and is likely to make a few stops at other farm system affiliates on the way back.
Rhett Lowder pitches tonight
Sticking with the rehab assignment theme we’ve got going, Rhett Lowder is back on the mound tonight in Triple-A. Louisville plays at home at 6:35pm with Lowder making his second rehab start for the Bats and his 4th rehab start overall.
Things haven’t gone well for Lowder when it comes to the raw numbers while he’s been on his rehab assignment. He’s made three starts – one each for the team in Arizona, the Dayton Dragons, and the Louisville Bats – and has thrown just 6.1 innings while allowing 13 hits, 10 earned runs, two home runs, he’s hit a batter, walked two, and struck out 11.
At the same time, his rehab process is essentially his spring training. His elbow injury cost him all of the spring and all of April. His goal at this point is to get ready, not just go out there and try to get the job done. He’s going to be working on specific things and if that means hits and runs are going to come as a result of it, then that’s just how it’s going to have to be because the important part is that he can fine tune what isn’t working right so that when it’s time he’s better prepared for the games that matter.
With that said, I’m sure he and the club are hoping to see better results than he has had thus far, particularly compared to his first start with the Bats where he recorded one out before reaching a 1-inning pitch limit that led to his being pulled from the game.
My guess is that CES will be back on the injury list again. Back issues and power bat isn’t a good combo. They probably should’ve let him rest till all star break. We shall see…
Since CES is still technically on the IL, they can pull him back from rehab any time they want and even continue him on the IL at the end of the rehab if all the time is used.
Starting his rehab at the complex level where he has been working out versus higher in the system seems like a cautious move with very little repercussion if they feel the need to pull him back.
Unless Lowder progresses very quickly, he may spend the rest of this season in the long reliever/spot starter role. Given the time missed he may not be fully extended until July. CES seems a much more serious concern as noted.
Neither case affects the necessary deadline move for an established MLB power hitting OFer.
Optimist, Yahoo sports had an article last week about the trade deadline. Said there are only one or two outfielders that would provide value for trade and make an impact. So the Reds will not get an outfielder that will be worth a difference or without overpaying.
True enough, and the same situation last off-season. I wasn’t in favor of Santandar to a long-term deal, so they’re just looking at rentals. The White Sox deal is still to be had, and I wouldn’t discount Benintendi as an add-on. The $$$ are bad, but with any sort of will power it could be done. Would not be a terrible overpay in prospects, which is a problem since the Reds are certainly not going to overpay in $$$$.
Honestly, I have higher hopes for Candelario than CES. At least he’s done it at the big league level before.
He’s an average older infielder who has not done it in quite some time. CES has a much higher ceiling. CES is hurt, not so sure how “hurt” Candelario is.
Ditto
I don’t know all the details of Lowder’s injury, and I know the MRI did not show structural damage. But, historically this team has done a poor job handling injuries and consider me less than optomistic about how they are handling this.
Leave CES in Louisville after rehab until he returns to destroying AAA pitchers as has in the past. As for Candelario, just DFA him once he’s “healed”. I had low expectations of him from the outset, and he failed to live up to even that. He costs too much and produces too little.
What if he’s destroying them next week?
Marte and Benson were destroying them for more than a week. I’d say let him prove it over a few weeks, not days.
Long enough. Hopefully, not another Aquino.
All depends on how he’s doing his damage, no? If he’s not taking his walks and his chase rate is unsustainable, it wouldn’t matter to me if his slugging % is thru the roof, he’ll get exposed at the big league level…..again.
Yup. I think CES can be another Christian Walker. Gold Glover with 30 bombs and .800 ops. But he has to stop swinging at everything like a little leaguer in order to make it happen. He makes Aquino look patient.
Or he goes Rece Hinds call up for a week and a half and carries the team to 5 wins by himself.
You can always option him later if he’s struggling.
@Doug I thought carrying the entire team offensively was Benson’s job?
He costs the same whether on the roster or DFA’d. In one alternative the Reds might get something, in the other they get nothing. Even a prospect could be better than nothing at all.
That’s true. But if he’s DFA’d and waived, at least the Reds won’t have another sub-.200 batter starting
“He costs the same whether on the roster or DFA’d”
Yes true but he also won’t provide a negative WAR or take away playing time from good players if released.
CES is always hurt and it’s too bad he could be really good.
Since turning pro in July, 2021, CES has been on the IL much less than someone who is frequently injured.
0 days in 2021; 0 occasions
7 days in 2022; 1 occasion on IL
23 days in 2023; 1 occasion on IL
120 days in 2024 (1 occasion, fracture, HBP)
35 days in 2025 (1 occasion, back inflammation)
That is less than 1 occasion per pro season.
Outside of getting a broken hand in 2024 after a HBP, he has played in a high percentage if his teams’ games:
2022: 87% (122 out of 140 games)
2023: 83% (67 out of 88 games (minors) and 63 out of 70 games (majors); 130 out of 158 games total)
Prior to having the diagnosis of a fracture, in 2024 he actually played in 81% of games (29 out of 36), some with the broken bone.
In 2025, he has missed 15 out of 51 games with back inflammation. Before the IL, he played in 83% (15 out of 18).
It is reasonable to note players health can decline after injuries and things add up. However, that indicates chronic injury problems, and we do not seem to be in that arena yet with CES.
For that matter, is also reasonable to suggest the back inflammation is related to the long layoff. In fact, it is probably better to acknowledge CES’ increased fitness and weight loss reported on at the beginning of the year and cut him quite a bit of slack regarding his health.
His chase rate, on the other hand …
The guy looks like a hitter. If CES can get it together, it’s what the Reds need to go along with good pitching.
With less then 500 at bats in the big leagues along with his minor league stats of 600 slugging and 900+ OPS at age 25 CES has nothing to prove except that he is healthy.Dude joins MM and Steer and Ty Steve and soon to be Marte trying to come back from injuries and we will get to watch them all.Yes it has been and will be painful to watch all of this but what else do you do?I like our bench but lets be real here if Espy,the two catchers and Lux play a lot then we ain’t going no where.I know I have said it before but its true they are bench players with good defense at time some good at bats at times but they are not starters in the big leagues.
If Espy is the best player off the bench, and Lux is the worst starter (450+ ABs) they are a deep playoff contender. As is, .500 keeps you in contention for the wild card, with Lux and Espy doing just fine.
How is Lux the worst starter?
Lux is their most disciplined hitter. He’s 13th in the NL in OBP, sandwiched between Bryce Harper 12th and Juan Soto14th- both fair hitters.
Unfortunately our supposed best hitters aren’t playing well. Elly is the 20th best SS in MLB by fWAR. Masyn Wynn Cards and Dansby Swanson Cubs are far more productive in 2025 than Elly. McLain is hitting .172 while 3 of the top 5 producing 2b are from the NL central( Donovan cards #1, Turang Brewers #2, Hoerner Cubs #5). Spencer Steer is 47th amongst 1b in fWAR @ -0.4 on Memorial day and Stephenson is negative WAR on Memorial Day. Those 4 have to play to their potential or this season will end with a fire-sale in late July,
Oh no, Lowder injured after throwing a pitch in the 2nd inning. Appeared to be some kind of muscle strain. Possibly left oblique issue? Was walking gingerly off the mound, so could be groin issue. Anyway, looks like a setback and moves his season debut even further back in the season.
Unrelated to the topic.
I am wondering when Arroyo, Stewart, Rodriguez, and O’Donnell get promoted to triple A?? Also Burns, and Acuna.
Opps, O’Donnell has cooled way off.
Kevin, all four have between just 110 and 150 AA at bats, and AA is considered the most challenging jump to make in the minor leagues. So getting significant AA experience is a good thing (unless your name is Elly or, soon, Chase Burns). Even McLain spent a full season there.
Also, there is a lot to be said about allowing players to get around the league at least a few times to let other teams make adjustments, then force our guys to do the same in return. Further, as three of the four were high school aged draftees or internationally signed kids, they are still growing into full season ball.
In short, there is no hurry or need to rush them, especially since they are each working on specific skills, ie HRod being more selective, Stewart learning to hit with power, Arroyo just getting through the season after a year off. We prognosticators can guess who and when promotions will come, but there are layers of details, from data to scouting. So, the best answer to your query is “Who knows?”
And, given the constant criticism of the Reds not teaching players ‘how to win,’ maybe keeping our most talented minor league team together to make a push for the playoffs is a good thing. Especially since it is the same core group that made the playoffs last year, too.
Just my 2.555 cents.
Excellent point and something I didnt consider. Thanks for great reply
Anytime, Kevin. You are always polite and open to others’ opinions.
George Foster had 27 HR and 125 RBI in his first six MLB seasons COMBINED at age 25.
Then he got MUCH BETTER at age 26 and beyond.
Not saying CES will be Foster II but he’s still young enough to be very good.
The roster is deeper. Three infielders potentially ready in the next couple of weeks. Marte and CES need to hit well before being called up. Candy has a spot by virtue of his contract. After Richardson today I’d have to think McLain and Hinds are the most optionable when spots are needed
Almost seems like it would be good for CES to stay in Triple A maybe the rest of the year to reestablish his hitting abilities, or from the Reds standpoint for him to become a trade prospect again if he has really good Triple A numbers. He’s probably not going to get consistent playing time on the Reds unless Steer kind of stays around hitting .200. That’d be about 2 years without really playing consistently if he comes back to the MLB team I think.