Welcome back to my Reds newsletter! It’s great to be able to communicate with you in this format once again after a long hiatus. This newsletter will be a good way for Reds news, information and analysis to come your way without searching for it. It will be delivered right into your email inbox -- and very soon it will be happening twice per week.
One great change from the past two years is reporters are allowed back inside the clubhouse. Hopefully this translates to better reporting from me and more enjoyable reading for you. Talking to players, the manager and coaches means more candid answers to questions and more depth to information. It should also bring something that is difficult to achieve on Zoom and impossible to get on social media -- nuance.
I hope you enjoy the newsletters going forward and be sure to tell your family, friends, strangers and pets to sign up as well so they can enjoy it also. Thanks for coming back.
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HUNTER GREENE MAKES THE TEAM |
Big news came out of Reds camp on Wednesday when manager David Bell revealed that top prospect Hunter Greene made the team and the big league rotation.
Greene, who is ranked No. 22 overall by MLB Pipeline, will make his MLB debut on April 10 to start the four-game series finale versus the Braves.
“I didn’t cry when David told me, but I did cry when I called my parents,” Greene said. “Very special moment. A lot of hard work put in. A lot of sacrifices. I cried when I called them and they cried. My pops called me this morning and he’s still crying. Just a beautiful moment to share as a family. I wish they were here, but it’s all good. I feel like they’re always with me.”
During a spring that has seen a lot of difficult moves made (see below), the Reds are showing they are not afraid to push their top prospects to the big leagues.
“I want to make sure we give our team every opportunity to win as opposed to keeping a guy down in the Minors,” general manager Nick Krall said. “If he has a chance to help this club and he is ready, then we should put him on the club. We did it last year with [Johnathan] India, we did it 10 years ago with Mike Leake. Some guys are ready at the beginning of the season, some guys are not always ready. It just depends.”
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OPENING DAY IS ALMOST HERE |
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One of the truly unique Spring Trainings I’ve encountered in 22 seasons of covering baseball for MLB.com is nearing the end.
Reds camp 2022 began with three major trades in four days that saw popular veterans like Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez and Amir Garrett get moved out. The deals shed payroll, but the Reds also believe the moves will help them build for the future.
Once the front office got under budget -- especially by freeing up the $35.6 million over the next three seasons owed to Suárez -- there has been a steady stream of signings. In a series of one-year contracts, Cincinnati added Tommy Pham for left field, Hunter Strickland for the bullpen and Donovan Solano and Colin Moran for the bench.
What kind of team will the Reds be this season? It’s really hard to tell yet how competitive they will be. The team has largely played well in Cactus League games, with nice offensive and pitching performances overall.
I will be interested to see how the team comes together once the regular season starts. There are still some good players on the roster and it's possible some elite prospects debut in 2022. Obviously, they will all want to prove that they can still be competitive in the NL Central.
Last Friday, I took my first crack at trying to predict the Opening Day roster. It was no easy feat as there have been so many changes and several spots remain up for grabs.
Besides Greene, the rest of the rotation has been settled. Following Tyler Mahle, it will be Reiver Sanmartin, Vladimir Gutierrez and Greene. Mahle will return for the home opener on April 12 versus the Guardians. No. 2 prospect Nick Lodolo is a candidate to make his big league debut versus Cleveland on April 13, but nothing is official yet
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The acquisition of Pham to play left field regularly certainly changed the outfield’s complexion. Jake Fraley, who was acquired from Seattle in the Winker-Suárez trade, could now likely rotate among all three outfield spots. Nick Senzel has been healthy in camp and is locked into center field, and Tyler Naquin seems set to be in right field.
For the extra outfielders -- some hard choices are coming. Aristides Aquino has big right-handed power when he’s locked in, but can he get locked in as a reserve? Aquino is out of options as well. Would the club expose him to waivers? Shogo Akiyama, who struggled mightily last season, is owed $8 million in the final season of his three-year contract and seems to be on the bubble. Would the club eat that money by releasing Akiyama? Max Schrock is a left fielder and can play all over the infield. Schrock’s left-handed bat usually hits well for contact.
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TRIVIA
When Kyle Farmer appears at shortstop on Opening Day at Atlanta, it will be the sixth consecutive year that the Reds will have a different starting shortstop to begin a season. Can you name the past five?
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“He has a slow heartbeat or whatever they say. He’s the same all the time. In the big situations, that does show up.” -- Reds manager David Bell, on catcher Tyler Stephenson |
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By Jesse Borek
June 22, 2011: Chris Heisey’s five-year tenure with the Reds will likely best be remembered for his acumen as a clutch pinch-hitter. In 200 career at-bats off the bench, Heisey hit 14 home runs and delivered an .817 OPS, vastly exceeding the .698 mark that he compiled as a starter. But in spite of that, his most memorable game with Cincinnati came on a day that he found himself among the starting nine.
Heisey began June 22, 2011, as a pinch-hitter. He popped out in his lone at-bat of Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Yankees, before manning center field (and eventually left field) in the nightcap. The right-handed hitter’s compact, powerful swing portended well to the dimensions of Great American Ball Park, making the left-field fence an inviting destination.
Batting leadoff, Heisey kicked off the bottom of the first with a bang, his first home run coming off Yankees starter Brian Gordon. He would get the right-hander once again, this time in the fifth for a two-run shot that staked the Reds to a 4-1 lead. Johnny Cueto was masterful on the bump, helping Heisey’s home runs stand up. With the outcome trending in the Reds’ direction, Heisey had one last act of dramatics in the eighth, clubbing his third and final home run -- all of which went to left field.
Entering the game, the outfielder had gone deep at home just twice all season; his power surge vs. New York would spur him on to an eventual 18-homer campaign, a career best. Heisey would go on to deliver two more multi-home run efforts in 2011, having carved out a niche as an impactful power bat during his second professional season.
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STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Here are some of the stories from Reds camp you might like to catch up on:
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THIS WEEK IN REDS HISTORY
March 30, 1998: The Reds traded pitcher Dave Burba to Cleveland for first baseman Sean Casey. Burba had been scheduled to start the season opener for Cincinnati the following day.
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REDS TRIVIA ANSWER
The previous five Reds Opening Day shortstops were Suárez (2021), Freddy Galvis (2020), José Iglesias (2019), José Peraza (2018) and Zack Cozart (2017).
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