AUGUST 19: The Reds have reversed their option on Senzel and placed him back on the injured list, Krall told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) this evening. While the club initially believed him to be healthy, further examination revealed some fluid in his surgically-repaired knee. A new timetable for Senzel’s return has not yet been defined.
AUGUST 15: Mike Freeman has been designated for assignment by the Reds, the team has announced. His roster spot was needed for Nick Senzel, who was activated off the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A.
Freeman was traded from Cleveland to Cincinnati in the offseason and has appeared in 37 games for the Reds this season. He’s served as a utilityman for the club, spending some time at each position except for right field and catcher. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to provide much value with his bat. In 65 plate appearances, the 34-year-old has a slash line of .186/.262/.186, producing a wRC+ of 23. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll be able to elect free agency, since he’s been outrighted in the past.
Senzel underwent knee surgery in May and began rehabbing two weeks ago. He hasn’t yet lived up to the prospect hype the preceded his 2019 call-up. Since then, he has played in 163 big league games, with a line of .246/.308/.396, for a wRC+ of 83. Reds general manager Nick Krall tells C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic that they plan on continuing to use him at multiple positions as he tries to work his way back onto the big league roster.
Let him free, man!
Since he’s Mike Freeman, does that mean that teams don’t have to pay him?
Seeing as how you get what you pay for, I’m thinking not
I’m hoping Rosecrans will find a writing partner some day named Gildenstern and they write a book together. Of course, it probably would be published posthumously.
Well done.
Fabulous
I think sending Senzel to AAA is a good move, it probably should of happened sooner. Having hype and praise heaped on you shouldn’t guarantee you a spot in The Show. At this point, I’d be thrilled to see him put up the numbers that India has, but more importantly Stat healthy!
They are RUINING Nick Senzel by having him play multiple positions before he even learns to hit in the big leagues. Just because it worked with Kris Bryant doesn’t mean that every player is going to be able to do that. Learning defense at multiple positions at the big league level is not something that is easy to do, no matter how talented you are. A lot of defensive moves have to learned through YEARS of repetition and can’t just be turned on and off on a daily basis. Let the kid learn to hit first and THEN if you want him to be a super utility guy, try it.
I’ve got to agree with you even though I don’t know much about this particular situation. Utility players should be developed over time, not created at the big league level. This idea of rotating a guy into a different spot every day to keep everyone else fresh is great in theory but doesn’t work comfortably for everyone, and it’s a lot likelier to work for a veteran who has had the time to really learn multiple spots.
Yeah, gotta disagree. No one is ruining Nick Senzel. The constant injuries have been the obstacle. He learned to play a decent CF in a short amount of time, and hasn’t really been moved around since. The Reds have a log jam in the 0F; there’s no reason for him to come up for part-time work. One or more of Castellanos, Akiyama, and or Aquino will be gone in the off-season. Let him play some games at SS in AAA while he bides his time. He’s an athlete, he can handle it.
I agree no one is ruining him. He is just one of those players that is injury prone
No matter what position he plays. Teams do this all the time with guys not a new thing. Senzel has been a disappointment and since the Reds have tried to be patient with him he has not shown much at the plate.
Did it work with Kris Bryant, though? He was fantastic his first three years, and then tailed off big time.
Well he did win the league MVP, so yeah I have to say it worked. I don’t think you can blame his learning new positions for the tail off.
Lol yeah…it worked
They should play Senzel in CF and leave him alone. Stop playing Akiyama. He sucks. If the Reds were a big spending team, he’d be cut already (since he can’t be sent to the minors).
Agreed. Shogo is only there stil because of his contract and Aquino is still there because they’re afraid to let him go and him figure out how to hit again elsewhere.
Aquino is better than Senzel numbers and health don’t lie
I agree Akiyama is terrible. Not sure who the scout was that convinced the Reds to sign him. They would have been better off keeping Billy Hamilton than paying all that money to Akiyama
Senzel and aquino will be traded if castellanos re-ups
Lmao the reds took this bum 2nd overall and he can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag
Low and uneducated post. I’m sure you’re the picture of perfection.
Calling a post low and uneducated…then offering nothing to substantiate that. Senzel has failed to produce on offense, putting up below average numbers each time he’s been given a chance. Unless he can stay healthy and figure it out, he’s an absolute bust for a #2 pick.
Made of glass sadly
I called this about 5 hours ago on another thread. He will hang around a few years like Blandino … be a utility player but has proven repeatedly he can’t be a full time player or part time.
If you can’t tell us exactly what other thread you said it in, it doesn’t count. Sorry.
Some serious busts at the top of that 2016 draft.
Mr. Glass
Does this mean he is now on the minor league IL and thus not accruing service time?
Never mind. I missed the word “option” at the beginning. For some reason I read it as “opinion” the first time through.
Wouldn’t it be easier for MLBTR to just update past “Senzel goes to IL” posts rather than creating a new one?
Just can’t catch a break. At this point neither the team nor his body may never give him the chance to reach whatever potential he had. Not saying he was going to be the next coming of Roberto Clemente or Kris Bryant or something but definitely a good contender for the what-if category