The Cincinnati Reds made multiple roster moves this afternoon before starting their series at home against the Chicago Cubs. Hunter Greene has been activated from the 15-day injured list, which we all knew was going to happen. The team also optioned outfielder Rece Hinds to Triple-A. In a surprise move they signed utilityman Garrett Hampson to a big league contract. To make room on the 40-man roster for him they moved Carson Spiers to the 60-day injured list.
The signing of Garrett Hampson comes less than a week after he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has no options remaining and is on the Reds active roster.
The 30-year-old Hampson, has been in the big leagues in parts of the last eight years. For the most part those eight seasons have not gone well at the plate. In two of those eight seasons he’s been an average-ish hitter (OPS+ of 103 in 48 plate appearances and 95 in 252 plate appearances) and in the other six he’s been an absolutely terrible hitter (OPS+ of 70 or lower).
This past season he played in 18 games with the Diamondbacks and hit .167/.359/.167 to go along with nine walks and 10 strikeouts. In 2024 he played in 113 games with Kansas City and hit just .230/.275/.300 without a home run.
He can’t hit. But he can play just about everywhere on the field. In the last two seasons the only position he hasn’t played has been catcher. Most of his time has been in the outfield and at second base, but he’s spelled guys at the other positions every so often.
You can see all of his career stats here.
How a no-hit at all infielder/outfielder fits in with this club is a tough one to make sense of. Even with the injuries to Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario, the Reds still don’t have enough spots to play the guys who can hit on an every day basis. The upside is what, exactly? That you’ve got a 9th infielder on your roster if you get into the 19th inning of a game? It’s a confusing move.
The team is going to be without Rece Hinds for a bit of time now as he’s heading back to Louisville. Cincinnati wasn’t playing him much since he was called up, and while having the potential power and defense available on the bench, having him get every day at-bats isn’t the worst thing in many cases.
Beyond stupid signing.
Well Doug glad to see you’re confused as well.
Wynns remains 3rd catcher and doesn’t play yet let’s send Hinds down.
At least Hinds will get to play in Louisville though. I dunno
Hinds has options. Wynns doesn’t. No risk in someone picking up Hinds when you send him down.
Good point, and makes sense.
sounds like another Conner Joe.
Not really. Conner Joe’s OPS is higher.
This move is baffling
The writeup states Hampson can’t hit but his average for 7 years in the NL is .240 which is about average in today’s game.
And his OPS+ in 6 of his 8 years is 70 or worse. Which is very, very, very, very bad.
” Which is very, very, very, very bad.”
It’s almost like you’re trying to say it’s not good. 😉
To say this move really makes all the fanbase very upset is an understatement. Reading a Charlie Goldsmith’s tweet on X he says Francona argues that Hampson provides much defense versatility…But after the team struggles a lot offensively they are worried about defense versatility? Is it so hard to understand the team needs hit? What the heck is happening? Good Lord…
Tito is probably trying to say the right thing to not embarrass anyone. My question to ask is Krall actually TRYING to take the air out of Reds fans? It would seem so. Kind of unbelievable actually considering the timing. Krall has made some bad moves but this might be the worst. This has to have a negative effect on the players as well. They know what they need and they know what they’re getting. They are far from stupid.
“Krall has made some bad moves but this might be the worst”
Mike Minor and Jemeir Candelario says hello!
(Just teasing Melvin).
If you don’t think this is a Francona move along with keeping Barlow and sending down Richardson. You’re giving Terry too littoe credit in how much say he has on this roster. I’m not happy with Krall on his previous inactivity from last year but this is Terry.
So you think Francona noticed a career .239/.302 /.358/.660 hitter was released last week and he told the front office to go get him? I doubt Francona has even heard of Hampson until today.
Francona likes vet players on his bench. Go look at some of the dreck he kept on the Cleveland team. He knows who the player is. He’s been around managing to know players who have been in the game for more than 5 years.
He likes multi position bench players.
This is Terry’s team. He has a lot more power than Bell did.
Just so baffling. I’m just going going to sit here and cry a little. I’ll replace those fluids with beer when I get home.
I’d say… maybe if a trade is coming up… but a trade isn’t coming.
Nobody is coming to save us.
“Nobody is coming to save us.”
Certainly not Krall.
It’s like a new “we got Jack for that” moment.
But Greene is back. I’ll hang some hope there and hope the Reds can snake bite a really good Cubs team. Beware the blue in the ballpark tonight.
Greene is back, but pitching hasn’t been the issue. This move is inexplicable. Or would be if it weren’t the Reds. I’m not going to get upset, but I’m going to watch reruns of Shetland tonight instead of the game. I was born in Cleveland and was an Indians fan when I was a little kid. It might not be that hard to wean myself from Reds fandom and switch to the Guardians, if it weren’t for their name.
Shetland is outstanding
Yes it is. But the number of murders on these small, beautiful and lightly populated islands is as inexplicable as this signing by the Reds.
Also inexplicable how little Benson has played after his HR string.
Dumb again
Krall still chasing Mr Goodbat. After my teenage years, I could afford new tires, no more retreads. I guess Krall still thinks he’s a teenager. I would have started Hinds ahead of Joe. For that matter, I’d probably start Trevino/Wynn ahead of Stephenson right now. Nearly a third of the way through and neither McLain nor Stephenson look like they are going to be a factor.
I appreciate the tire analogy, but this is like putting a bicycle tire on your SUV.
And justifying it by saying you can easily switch it with your other tires.
LDS, I always used to take issue with your–I thought–jaundiced view of the Reds. I apologize for that. You’ve been right all along.
Thanks, but I had hoped they had come to their senses when they signed Francona. Instead, he probably goes to bed each night night asking himself why he unretired.
A key move ahead of the Cubs series, Go Reds!
lol
Agree with the overwhelming feeling here that this signing is awful. More than anything else, this Reds team needs to hit better. That’s the glaring need, and it’s been true since last year. Signing Garrett Hampson hurts, rather than helps, that effort. So frustrating.
Guess Reds see Hinds in a way nobody else does.Not sure why a 24 year old guy with power speed and an above average arm can’t play in the big leagues or at least be a platoon in right for Benson or in center for Friedl.Also a power bat late off the bench.If Joe is that guy well how does that make any sense.Now I get it somebody will say he needs regular at bats and I agree but come on what else does this guy have to do at Louisville.I mean a 554 slugging and an 894 OPS is well good right.
Off topic (to lighten the mood).
The game is here tonight but there have only been 8 no-hitters ever pitched in Wrigley Field. Three were by opposing pitchers. Only two of the 8 were 10 inning games and only two were 1-0 games.
The two were pitched by Jim Maloney of Reds in 1965 and Fred Toney (also of Reds) in 1917.
I don’t understand the move made by the Reds, either.
Thanks for TRYING to lighten the mood. I’m not sure it worked with anyone though. lol
Wouldn’t happen today. Since he threw over 200 pitches ,Maloney would be taken out of the game twice before he got to the end. That game is available to watch on YouTube.
If I remember correctly, he had 10 walks in that game.
Since we are talking about Reds no hitters, I want to share something I stumbled on a few days ago about the Cincinnati Reds first no-hitter. Pretty interesting. Bumpus Jones in 1892 against Pittsburgh. It was his first game in MLB and it remains the only time a pitcher had a no-hitter in his 1st game in MLB history. Like Pete Rose’s hit record and Johnny Vander Meer’s back to back no hitters, most likely a record that will never be matched.
This team -owner is unserious. But I guess he’s slightly better than the Rockies, Pirates, A’s owners?
insane. can’t find a hitter so let’s pick up an even worse hitter for the big league club. this will make for a no miss viewing of Reds ballgames. sigh. and where is freaking Benson again?!!
rather see Hinds and Benson playing for a week straight. see what they can bring. they are decent fielders and can get ahold of one now and then. man, it really isn’t rocket science.
i am reminded of the disaster signing of no hit good glove John Vukavich in the seventies.. great glove man etc etc. and the Big Red Machine stumbling out of the gate with a horrible record til Sparky instilled Rose at third and put Foster in the outfield permanently. and we don’t have a Sparky Anderson in the dugout or a Bob Howsam upstairs in the office. not by a long shot.
Vukovich literally had a career (best) year in 1975. He was that bad as a hitter.
Apparently it is rocket science and we don’t have an Einstein or von Braun.
Same ole cheap Reds.
Should be playing Hinds plenty to see what we have. This offense isn’t taking us places that’s why it’s so inconsistent. Joe, Hampson, smh.
“Cheap” isn’t the term I’d use here.
“Confused” or “Directionless” would be a better choice.
If you’re looking for the versatile glove-man, why not go with someone who has options?
Or are they intending to just bounce this guy around again when CES or Candelario come off the IL?
I sure hope we don’t see him getting starts at 3b.
Yeah, they’d rather waste away the controllable years of Hunter & Elly with retreads. Friedl needs hitting help behind hind him, & in his place if he’s dinged up. Hays needs some thump protection or be the protection for a Hinds trial.
Never heard of him.
“The signing of Garrett Hampson comes less than a week after he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks”
Doesn’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. As Doug pretty much said I don’t see how he’s going to help much at all. The one thing this team needs is hitting and this guy is the opposite. Meanwhile Hinds was hot when brought up providing power and defense at least which this team is also lacking. Just like I’ve been saying though he needs to play somewhere every day so that’s a positive. At least I’ll have interest in watching the Bats again as they’ve been quite boring lately to be honest. The Lookouts have been far more fun to watch. I hope Tito can pull a rabbit out of his hat somehow because Krall hasn’t been helping much. To put a guy on the ML roster who can’t hit, knowing we’ve been struggling in that area big time, when we’re facing the biggest series to date so far this year is not wise in my eyes to say the least.
So, ignore the connection with this series with the Cubs. Yes, it was unfortunate. The guy was available so they picked him up. Yes, the Reds do need more hitting, and where is that going to come from ? What I’m hearing is that the Reds will need to develop that. But we also need to keep winning, and where is that going to come from ? From the guys we put on the field. I don’t care about the Stats. Look at Detroit. How are they getting it done ? So, why can’t the Reds. Play smart, and play well. Be as good as we can be.
Is this instructive of the Reds’ hitting philosophy?
Hampson has these career numbers
SO% 26.5 (ML avg. 22.7%)
BB% 8.0 (ML avg. 8.5%)
Exit Velocity 83.3 (ML avg. 88.4)
Hard Hit% 29.2% (ML avg. 39.1%)
Chase Rate 23.1%
Contact% 77.0%
I may not watch this evening game. Truly baffled by this move to put it mildly.
I recommend Shetland. Start from the beginning. Check the score tomorrow. Or not.
Thanks for suggestion. I may do that..
Normally its big bang theory re runs. Lol
Just the “Guy” to play 3rd base, you know, if the Reds tie or take the lead in a late inning game. Could also mean someone is out longer than expected because rehab assignment isn’t going well. OK, Garrett grab you a chair on the deck! Maybe show us one of those average years Doug was telling us about.
Same old, same old… I always post this: “what is the definition of insanity?” The Reds as an organization are not fully invested in putting a winning product on the field CONSISTENTLY. After a while, you have to realize you don’t root for a team because of its past… we do live in the present. Hiring Tito was simply putting lipstick on a very fat ugly non-performing pig. The Reds current ownership group simply does not have the desire or financial ability to consistently invest in a winning product in 2025. There are plenty of ownership groups who don’t hesitate to spend. Salaries will only continue to go up. And no whining about being a small market… it is such a tiring argument and we have heard it for over 30 years now. Who can root for that mentality? It pains me to type that… I absolutely love the Reds. I cannot stand see this organization slowly die because of inertia caused by a negligent ownership group. They have killed a civic treasure and they have lost multiple generations of fans.
Feel your pain. So much.
What I don’t understand is why the front office doesn’t listen to the fans? Coming in cheap seems to be all they care about. If that’s the case, then do us all a favor and sell the team.
https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/the_power_bat_the_reds_needed_was_right_there_they_missed_him/s1_17327_42234822
Turns out the Goldy signing looks like a good move.
I personally thought that it would have been a mistake to sign the aging veteran in decline. Last year, he was basically Candy, before Candy got hurt.
You never know what motivates a player at his age to resurrect his career.
Difference is Goldy is a hall of famer that had a bad year and was really good the year before and Candy is Candy.
Thanks for the link. I scrolled on down to “The 25 Most Disappointing MLB Players In 2025 So Far”. Spencer is the only Red to make the list.
ESPN LATEST NEWS REPORT: Netflix has officially released a new documentary chronicling the life and career of legendary Cincinnati Red commentary duo Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall, offering viewers an intimate look into the life of one of Baseball most iconic commentary figures
You got anything else on this? I did a quick google search and found absolutely nothing.
This is all I got…long link…forgive me if it doesn’t work.
https://onlineincomenest.com/espn-latest-news-report-netflix-has-officially-released-a-new-documentary-chronicling-the-life-and-career-of-legendary-cincinnati-red-commentary-duo-marty-brennaman-and-joe-nuxhall-offering-viewers/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKdyetleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF3ZnFDUEpEYm04R3ZNTERPAR7ejVFM4eWjM30L_itnAAWZ6-Vi8lUhwP1uj8xld6FNN0IMwuezhlhNfZe9Cw_aem_fTnji6fSxcjw9Rnyi3LfMw
The link works but this feels about as made up as possible, too. I checked IMDB for the supposed emmy winning director and while there were several people with the name, none of them were directors and all had the tiniest amount of listings on their resume. No google search for the name of the supposed documentary even exists.
The entire website that talks about it is just written by “admin”. Odds that it’s just an AI garbage machine are probably pretty high. But maybe I’ll be surprised and this thing will actually turn out to exist.
That may very well be the case. I guess we’ll find out May 27th.
Pacers built the most exciting team in the league. The Reds have one of the most boring teams in the league. Wonder who I’m watching. They wouldn’t even run Steer (20 steals last year) on a guy throwing mostly sweepers? Would’ve tied the game on Stephenson’s double. Another factor for me is they all act like robots. I caught a little of the Big Ten baseball tournament and the kids get fired up. I know thats tough with 162 games, but is it impossible? If they go out and beat the Cubs 10-2 tonight then I’ll be happy, but I don’t trust their product or their process. It’s like expecting a good pizza at a gas station. Their focus isn’t on good pizza
How bout them Pacers Indy?….don’t tell JB I said that. 😉
Game 1 was epic. Congrats on that.
Winning breeds enthusiasm. Everybody looks good when they are rolling.
It’s a chicken or egg thing though. Hard to have one without the other.
Pacers, Knicks reminds me of when I was a teenager, kind of a classic matchup. But what’s the deal with Halliburton and the “choking” sign? Some of these guys are so immature! I’m glad baseball doesn’t have a lot of that. I don’t recall Reggie Miller ever winning any titles, or even the Pacers for that matter. For a team that’s never won a title, Halliburton might want to be a little more humble. That foolishness may come back to bite them. Overall though I’ll may be interested in the NBA again once the Seattle Supersonics become a team again!
The last time for both the Knicks AND the Pacers to win a title was 1973. The Knicks in the NBA and the Pacers in the ABA. There’s definitely a history of the teams not liking each other since then.
The choking sign was a direct callback to the game that Reggie did it to Spike Lee in the Garden in 1994.
Yep. Reggie was there as one of the announcers. haha
File this under “defending the indefensible” if you want – I don’t hate this. If they’re not going to play Hinds (and he seemed to be third in the platoon RH pecking order behind Joe and the backup catcher) then I’d rather see him get everyday at-bats in the minors. Hampson is fast, versatile, and 30 – old enough to not mind riding the bench.
I wouldn’t have brought in Joe. He’s a fine player but I hate platoons, on grounds of “if the pitcher faces 8 RH in a row all the time it’s too easy for him to mothball the slider and get in a rhythm” and “constantly pinch hitting sends your guys the message you don’t think they can hit certain pitchers.” I’d be running at least one of Lux and Benson every day and sometimes both. They’ve both sat three games in a row as the hottest hitters on the team… wonderful.
I do think people are wishcasting Hinds’ potential into thinking he’s better *right now* than he is. I just think he’s too easy to strike out at the moment. But his MLB stats are pretty decent so maybe I’m wrong.
I don’t think it’s necessarliy wishcasting. Not even sure what that is. I just think he should get the opportunity to prove himself instead of wasting at bats on a team full of bench players like Joe, Espinal, and now Hampson too. This team leads the league in 26th men.
Wishcasting = forecasting + excessive optimism. (like me on Benson, maybe.) Like “Chase Burns is going to put up several years of 3.30 ERA in his prime, therefore I expect that from him in 2025.”
Hinds had a .208/.282/.376 at AAA last year as you know, and I need more than six good AAA weeks to believe he’s suddenly a way better big-league hitter than Joe. (Maybe he is and it’s easy to see, I admittedly don’t watch Bats games.) I’m with you on wanting to catch lightning in a bottle, I just think the odds on Hinds aren’t high enough to be mad about them taking it slow.
Not wishcasting or catching lightning in a bottle. It’s called natural progression. Hinds wasn’t great in his first year of AAA after a great previous year in AA. But he adjusted and produced again. Instead of seeing if he can continue producing at the MLB level, Reds prefer to feed their sick addiction to playing it safe with the mediocres. IMO might as well see what you have with Hinds since even a blind man can see he has the talent to be an All-Star.
Don’t they have two of these guys, who are better hitters, at Louisville already with Jordan and Urbaez. If they are giving away a 40-man spot how about somebody who has been loyal to the organization.
Perhaps a trade will follow this move.
What kind of trade are you thinking about?
This signing may show that they are more concerned about McLain then they are letting on. Since his first 5 games where he was 6 for 20, he has only 21 hits is 135 ABs for a 156 average!
For those interested in reading further on this topic, Charlie Goldsmith shares a different perspective on the Hampson signing.
https://charlieschalkboard.substack.com/p/as-the-reds-tweak-their-roster-dont
My two cents: this is a short-term bridge to getting some of our injured infielders back on the active roster.
I don’t know much about the player Garrett Hampson but from what I hear/read we could have brought up several players from the minors who could provide virtually the same services who would still have options and who we would not have to pay an extra $760,000. As cheap as the Reds are we all know they’re most likely going to be very hesitant to release him and lose that money. Most likely someone else who should be on the roster won’t be because of that. It was a ridiculous and “non winning” signing.
“Adding Hampson is a fine move by the Reds, and they didn’t have many options available to them in their search for infield depth. The trade market doesn’t pick up until July.” – Charlie Goldsmith
I do not agree with that statement.
Interesting take … let’s look at this from your point of view. Here are the options and their major league time:
Hampson, (age 30), 1,803 PA, .660 OPS (.819 career AAA OPS)
Levi Jordan (age 29), 11 PA, .291 OPS (.693 OPS at Louisville)
Francisco Urbaez (age 27), no major league time (.816 OPS at Louisville)
Bryson Brgman, (age 29), no major league time (.612 OPS at Louisville)
Ivan Johnson, (age 26), no major league time (.698 OPS at Louisville)
Hampson was on a major league contract with Arizona, so the Reds are only on the hook for the prorated minimum. They could potentially save money by promoting one of their infielders, but only if they optioned them and kept them on the 40-man roster for the remainder of the season. I’m not sure I agree that any of those players has a better resume than Hampson or that they any of them are good enough to hold a 40-man roster spot all season long. Every player in the Reds minor league system has been passed on by all 30 MLB teams. Hampson has garnered six plus years of service time and five franchises have used him in a bench role.
So, if this is a relatively short-term move, it seems like Hampson was better than the internal options. What have I missed?
Prorated is better than the full $760,000 of course but the Reds already have three guys who can play multiple positions in Lux, Espinal, and Steer. Why even sign the guy? He’s not an upgrade. I fully understand if you’re not going to play Hinds then by all means send him to AAA to play every day as I’ve been saying. Dunn or Hurtubise could have provided a pinch runner/defensive replacement. With Hinds and Fraley playing for the Bats now there’s not any room for all four anyway.The move did not make the Reds better at all. Maybe he’s better than what I’ve been hearing. I know nothing about him other than what I’ve heard/read the past couple of days. The move most likely will do more harm than good though. If nothing else it’s not helping fans/players alike mentally or emotionally. It’s not a winning move. Everyone is TIRED of losing.
Lux is DHing and not the best on the left side of the infield–his arm is weak. Steer’s arm is almost certainly preventing him from playing on the left side of the infield. With McLain struggling, I doubt the Reds want to move him to the left side of the infield. The reason Espinal is playing everyday is there are no other options for 3B or SS. So, Hampson fills a need, at least for a while.
Okay BK. I know you want to win too. I must say for me though I haven’t seen any signs of the reputation of Lux being true. That being poor defensively with a weak arm. For someone that hasn’t played the outfield all that much he does pretty good. As far as his arm goes I’ve seen him play a ball off the wall and throw a runner out at 2B. No one who has a weak arm can do that.
Benson was hotter than a Texas workhorse in August…Joe shows up and Hinds steps back…Stephenson returns and Trevino/Wynn get dumped in the ice bath…and Benson… I’m not so sure Tito is pushing ALL the buttons. Seems there’s still an undertow.
The lineup is out for tonight. Benson is back in there. I really like his new swing so far. Might be a good idea to let him try against lefties again.
I dont understand the rabid foaming at the mouth for the 25/26 th man roster spots
Austin Hays is playing every day and batting 4 th in LF with DH duties to preserve health some and doing great
Lux is playing lf and Dh against righties and looks great
TJ friedl is the every day leadoff hitter and CF and producing
Santiago Espinal is the every day 3b with Marte and Candy out for an extended period
Elly is the every day SS
McLain is the every day 2b
Steer is the everyday 1b
Stephenson/ trevino are the catchers and DH against lefties
Benson is the RF against righties and joe is the RF against lefties and swiss army knife
Most of us would have put Hinds in the platoon rf with some time in cf but friedl is the Reds most productive every day player in 2025 so maybe the Reds want hinds getting every day at bats in AAA and dont want him labeled yet as a weak side platoon player
I suspect wynns will go when Fraley is active and Reds have Hampton as the 26 th guy sitting most of the time until CES candy or marte come back
I think this says more about how far away those 3 are from being healthy and how Reds have quit on Dunn and hurtubise
Season is 1/3 over . They aren’t paying Hampton 670k … more like 500k until candy or ces comes back
This doesnt look good for Marte coming back anytime soon
760k