The Cincinnati Reds are off for much of this week for the All-Star break. So are the full-season minor league teams. But out in Arizona at the Reds complex the rookie-level ACL Reds are still playing their season. With no other options if he wanted to get on the field, Reds outfielder Dane Myers headed out to Arizona to play with the lowest level team in the farm system that plays in the US (the organization has two teams that player in the Dominican Summer League).
Myers, who is on the 10-day injured list after a hard collision with the wall in Milwaukee, has missed more than two weeks since he exited the game after his catch on June 29th. He was checked out and had x-rays and scans and in general, everything looked like it was right. But the collision was still leading to pain – which if you happened to see, you can understand why. He needed some time to be ready to get back on the field.
That happened on Monday night in the greater Phoenix area as the ACL Reds played a road game against the Kansas City Royals affiliate. There’s no official record of this game happening because in the bottom of the 5th inning a dust storm came through and delayed the game. But right after it came through so did a whole bunch of rain and after just over a 2-hour delay they decided to call the game. That game was tied at that point and with just eight days left remaining in the season the game was just cancelled and for record keeping purposes is treated as if it never happened.
The thing is, though – it did. Myers led off the game and was hit by a pitch in his first trip to the plate. The next time up he drew a walk. And in his final trip to the plate before Mother Nature intervened he would strikeout looking.
Last night he was starting in center for the ACL Reds again the Brewers affiliate. He popped up to first base in the 1st inning and in the 3rd inning he would strike out swinging. The next inning he drew a walk on seven pitches. In what would be his final at-bat of the day in the 6th inning he flew out to right field.
The Cincinnati Reds don’t get back on the field until Friday. They will be in Colorado to start a 3-game series with the Rockies that night. The Arizona Complex League Reds, where Myers is currently rehabbing, play tonight and tomorrow night. It’s possible that he could play in both games and then meet up with the team in Colorado if he and the organization believe that he is ready.
Those dust storms in Phoenix (the filter won’t let me type the name) are fierce.
I was talking about it over on social media and how I thought someone just had the input wrong on why the game was delayed. It was listed as “air quality” but it was clearly raining at the time. But someone in the area was quick to tell me that the dust storm came through first. Then about 15 minutes later someone sent me a video clip from the ballpark of the grounds crew struggling to get the tarp down over the home plate area (at this complex – KC – they only have tarps for the mound and home plate area) and the wind was absolutely crazy.
It will be good to get him back soon. What a tough young man!
Is he really ready to come back? I mean, he is not even hitting the ball hard at the ACL level?
The Reds need him out there in CF, but I don’t know if he’s ready. Two more games may tell the tale.
We need Dane Myers so the team can be the best it can be! But take no short cuts. Get back in shape and heal well. We look forward to getting Myers back.
Did our divisional nemesis, the Brewers, pull off another shrewd trade, acquiring the healing Lance McCullers and Colton Gordon from the Astros for $2.5M? Neither has looked good thus far this year, but I bet at least one of these two pitchers finishes 2026 well for them.
Unfortunately, Dane Myers is the Reds best CF. Hes above average. Hes been solid and is controlled. OPS + 104 and good CF and has an elite arm that is one of the best in all of MLB as a former pitcher. Until the Reds have a better option, he should play everyday. Friedl is done and while I am/was a big fan of marte…he needs to stay in RF and earn his job 2nd half or start over in RF in 2027. Perhaps Bleday moves to RF and HRod gets a chance in LF.
Very bullish on Bleday as a core OF/DH. He destroys righties and is ok against lefties. Those guys are unicorns. Perfection is the enemy of good and way too many RLN fans throw good or above average or average to the curb as we wallow in awfulness and last place. 1979 Dave Parker isnt signing with the Reds in 2027.
Reds have a great core 0f 5-6 players plus a few decent pieces. The problem is the injured, aging and underperfomers. START THERE!
+10000000, O-S
If Steer is going to keep on getting multiple hit games when he plays CF he can stay there are far as I’m concerned. He’ll only get better defensively. 🙂 He’s not TERRIBLE now.
He just hit a home run in Arizona.
Well, that’s solid contact!
If he’s playing in Arizona, just activate him tomorrow. Can’t continue to send Friedl at .181 out there every day. We’ve had to put Steer in CF out of desperation. Although Myers has been a platoon player against lefties all season, I’d start him in CF every day until Dunn is activated and they can platoon from that point on.
Dunn is right handed too.
I’m wondering if this trade talk is getting any traction. Steer for a top 100 prospect in Rodriguez and Beck, both AAA RHP starters would be a good return. Rodriguez has 3 options and Beck, older at 27 has 3 option years remaining and could be a good candidate to move to the Reds bullpen as the long reliever. We should be trading away relievers with expiring contracts, so Beck can take one of those spots. After trading Singer, can plug Rodriguez into the starting rotation until Lodolo returns from the IL.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-urged-pursue-reds-slugger-225220785.html
The Yankees are also looking for catching help. Maybe we throw in Stephenson into a package deal and get Kent, a A+ SS and Lalane, a A+ LHP starter in return. We have more than enough SS, but he’s put up good numbers at A+ and would be a good promotion candidate to AA Chattanooga. Lalane was recently promoted to A+ after putting up excellent numbers at A ball.
Stephenson AND Steer might bring a return like that. The Reds would be hard pressed to replace (in kind) in their 2026 lineup.
I think Singer may also be traded this month.
For me, the games after the All Star break are for trying to figure out from ‘27 and beyond. Play younger players through promotions and players we receive in trades. Getting back good players that would be under team control for many years, is the key for the deadline imo.
We don’t need a full rebuild, but strategically getting younger, more athletic and having the majority of the 40 man roster under 30 with many years of team control, I believe is the way to go.
How about Stephenson -0.2 and Hector Rodriguez 6.8 for Jasson Dominguez 7.3?
Not a fan of Domínguez. wRC+ of 88. He’s hitting .235 this season.
Jasson Dominguez .318/.400/.500 with 5 HR and 20 rbi, 10 sb in 29 AAA games. .235/.279/.409 with 5 Hr and 11 rbi, 6 sb in 36 major league games . I believe given regular playing time and a change of scenery he will thrive. He is 23 years old. A short time ago he was heralded as a Top 3 OF prospect.
I would take Dominguez over any of the aforementioned Yankees prospects in a heartbeat.
Baseball Trave Values has Rodriguez at 19.5, Lalane 11.5, Kent 2.6, Beck 0.5. Red’s valuations: Steer 2.5, Stephenson -0.2, Singer -0.8.
I like the out of the Box thinking. It seems that Steer would have to be included in a larger deal to get any value coming to Cincy.
*Kent is the son of HOF secondbaseman Jeff Kent.
As far as trade values, I don’t really agree with the figures. Steer and Stephenson are playing in the ML and the Yankees prospects in the minors. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Until they actually get to the ML, there’s no telling how they will perform. Steer has hit 20+ HRs for 3 consecutive years, going on his 4th. Stephenson, the main C for the Reds since ‘21. If you go by those numbers, it’s obvious the Yankees would never consider a trade, but both Steer and Stephenson provide what the Yankees need. A somewhat power hitting right handed hitter that is versatile and a C with starting experience that is putting up better numbers than the Cs on their current roster. Wells is hitting .155 and Sanchez plays only against lefties in a platoon. Just one man’s opinion
I also do not agree with all the valuations. However it can be said that not all the valuations are incorrect. I was just providing some contextual information to the discussion.
BTV valuations factor in the contract value as well as the talent level of a player.
RedsFanforLife-not sure what your or others fascination is with playing younger players. Five of the nine starting AL all stars are 30 and older. Seven of the nine NL starting all stars are 28 and older.
Steveareno,
I look at the Cardinals roster. They can win with youth under team control and a low payroll. Only 3 players on the 40 man roster over 30. This is how the Reds roster should be built.
2, not 3
I think Lodolo might be gone too but it would be selling low which will probably keep him here until next year about this time.
Unfortunately Myers is the Reds best option to play center right now.Works for me unless they clear the deck at the trade deadline and give the guy at Louisville right now a shot.I am all in with RFFL and his comments above but one more win vs one more loss seems to be the Reds way of thinking even when there is no chance to play after 162 games.My guess is they will hold on to anybody they think can help them get that one more win rather then move them.Waving the white flag is good for fans like me who believe losing is just losing but I don’t work for the Reds who still have to worry about selling tickets and all the other promotions they seem to be really good at.I mean like it or not Phil was right where else are you going to go.
I want to mention something I saw last night (Weds). MLB is running a “TV commercial” to build up public support for a salary cap! Has anyone else seen this?
It is essentially a “political ad” using a person-on-the-street format. In a series of sound bites, individuals say why they think MLB should have a salary cap. Are they legitimately just folks on the street asked about a salary cap in MLB, or are they paid performers? Who knows?
So, four and a half months out from the CBA expiration and possible lockout date, MLB is spending money to promote its negotiation stance. Batten the hatches and close the hurricane shutters; this one is going to be a force 5+ monster.
I have seen it a lot. MLB dot com has been writing articles about it and has been using headlines of stories that ask things like “Does MLB need a salary cap for parity” while not showing that the article emphatically said no and showed evidence as to why. Two days ago one of the MLB dot com writers started a big thing on twitter saying he can’t see how the MLBPA proposals help the fans but how the MLB proposals do. Then about 50 of the 70 replies told him how stupid he was.
Thank You, Doug. I knew I saw what I saw, but a part of me was thinking it was too off the wall to be legit. Guess I was just hoping that was the case.
@Jim, there is an article on The Athletic that was published on Tuesday, “Union blasts league’s MLB.TV ad campaign promoting salary cap.”
Reportedly, MLB created a website and began its ad campaign after MLBPA publicly released details of each side’s initial proposals. In the article, the MLPBA Executive Director is quoted as saying, “[MLBPA has opted to] ‘be more transparent than ever with respect to our proposals.'” in defense of the many press conferences he’s held that pushed the negotiation into the public square.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7445282/2026/07/14/mlb-union-ad-campaign-salary-cap/
Of course, I don’t recall an article that even informed us that the union for publicizing the earliest versions of each side’s proposals, just multiple articles sharing the proposals along with Meyer’s commentary from his press conferences and some league rebuttals.
I’ve said for years, way too much of their negotiations go public–it’s corrosive behavior, and we all see how it spills over to where the negotiations never seem to stop. All of the negative press undoubtedly is a factor in MLB’s comparatively slow revenue growth rates. I’ll simply note that this does happen on occasion in many industries where one or both sides take their negotiating case to the public.
If I knew nothing of the history of MLB’s labor relationship and entered the story today, I would note that the union doesn’t believe the public supports their position, so they went on the offensive by sharing early proposals with the press. Multiple informal fan surveys indicate that a majority of fans want them to get a fair deal but don’t understand why a cap/floor/revenue sharing model precludes them from getting a fair deal. The union is rightly concerned that it lacks fan support, at least at this point.
Yes, this is going to be very ugly. While I still believe that the current CBA could be modified to improve the competitive landscape without a cap-based framework, as a fan, I would really like to see a cap system, if for no other reason than it would align the two sides’ interests with growing the game. Labor relations in the NFL, NBA, and NHL are side issues producing very little ink in the other leagues.
@BK> I can’t say about the NFL and NBA because I follow them between very passively to not at all, but the NHL came within a whisker of cashing itself out over labor relation issues at least a couple of times in the last 30 or so years. Now they have what is considered the hardest of caps among the three leagues. Teams have to be verified as in compliance literally every game day.
Also, I did see recently that apparently, the NBA has some escrow payback issues this year, with escrow money going back to the owners. The players do not like it one bit; and, I can also say that is the case when/ if escrow money moves in that direction in the NHL.
@Jim, The current issue in the NBA is how the “Second apron” is functioning as a hard cap for most teams. Their new union Executive Director has publicly spoken of wanting to “tweak” that one aspect of their CBA–“tweak” is his exact verbaige. Hardly a shot across the bow. He has not mentioned salary in escrow, and while I follow the NBA closely, I haven’t seen that issue raised by a single player or the union–perhaps I missed it, but “escrow” has been part of their CBA for a while and it would mean the players exceeded the high end of their share of revenues (51%) which would be a best-case possibility for them under their CBA.
I don’t follow the NHL, but how are their labor relations today? It may annoy you that teams have to monitor their payrolls, but is their union publicly arguing that they don’t like their CBA and want major changes? If so, I haven’t seen that either, and I read a variety of articles outside of my normal interests daily.
Back to the question you raised in your initial post: now that you know how the ads came about, are you equally concerned with the MLBPA’s action of publicizing both sides’ proposals?
@BK>>> I think there is a huge difference between publicly revealing and discussing negotiation points and producing paid advertisements purporting to show members of the public professing support for one of the points of contention in the negotiations.
How was the question put to the folks in the ad? What is the full context of their remarks? And as I posed previously, are the commenters in the ad actually members of the public at large, or perhaps a vetted group, or even paid actors/ participants??
@Jim, a few data points about how the latest CBAs came about in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL:
The NHL and NHLPA agreed to their current CBA on June 27, 2025, more than two months before their prior CBA expired (Sept 15, 2025).
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-ratify-collective-bargaining-agreement
The NBA and NBAPA agreed to their current CBA on April 1, 2023, three months before it went into effect (July 1, 2023).
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36298758/nba-nbpa-ratify-new-collective-bargaining-agreement
The last NFL CBA was ratified in March 2020, in time to impact the entire offseason leading up to the 2020 season.
One will note that the ratifications in ALL cases came many months before games would be jeopardized and even before their offseasons got fully underway. MLB’s last CBA nearly cost the league games and cratered the offseason. As I said, the other leagues have blissful labor relations compared to MLB.
@BK>> Dare I say the “early” settlements in the NHL, NFL, and NBA were because the basic revenue split between the players and owners had been previously settled in those other leagues?? 😉
@Jim, I don’t like either side’s tactics. Unless both sides agreed to release the information, it should have been kept confidential–full stop.
That said, you raise some points that could work against the owners in these ads. If they come across as disingenuous, then they could lose what appears to be strong public support. To date, I haven’t read substantiation of the potential concerns you’ve raised, but just as the ads provoked those possibilities in your mind, others could perceive them as you do–people do interpret ads based on their presuppositions.
MLB may be fully above board in its accuracy, but perception in advertising is stronger than reality. I mean, how many people read The Athletic every day? Of those who do, how many read past the headline that was written completely from the union’s perspective and take the time to find out that the union fired the opening salvo? In short, there’s a good chance the ads hurt the Owners publicly more than help them.
Sorry, I feel like I’m always a comment behind. Yes, they are settled early because they have a framework that both sides believe shares the economic value in their industry fairly. I say this with the caveat that NFL players walked away with an extra percentage of the revenue pie by agreeing to a 17th regular season game.
More importantly, why do you perceive it to be problematic that the other sports have a framework where both parties are satisfied?
One more day off from baseball and then “the party resumes” … just hoping it isn’t a wake.
Meyers or Dunn way ahead of TJ (and I do like him). But that’s not going to save us in 2025. I think the trade wars will begin to heat up and we’ll see a few pieces moved. Just a gut feeling on my part.
That gut feeling? Maybe you’re just hungry? 🙂
I hope whatever happens, the Reds are able to improve themselves for 2027.
BURNS 7 year extension!!!!
Nice, it buys out his first 2 years of FA and gives Reds control of him through 2033.
Now do Sal Stewart please.
Awesome news!
This year is going so poorly for the Reds I can’t wait for the off-season. Hard to imagine it has come to this.
Myers not in the lineup for ACL Reds, on his way to Colorado?