There’s a locker for outfielder Albert Almora in the Reds’ clubhouse, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Presumably, he and the club have agreed to a minor league deal.
Almora, turning 28 next month, showed a lot of promise in his first few years with the Cubs. From 2016 to 2018, he hit .289/.326/.413, wRC+ of 96. Combining that average-ish offensive production with his excellent outfield defense, he was worth 2.9 fWAR in 331 games. Unfortunately, his bat has continued to decline, with a wRC+ of 62 in 2019 and 34 in 2020.
The Mets took a $1.25MM flier on Almora last year, but his bat slid even further, as he hit just .115/.148/.173 in the big leagues. However, he showed much more promise in Triple-A last year, hitting .270/.331/.428.
Due to his defense, Almora doesn’t need to hit much to be a useful bench piece for the Reds, though he’ll have to earn his way into a somewhat-crowded mix that includes Tyler Naquin, Nick Senzel, Jake Fraley, Aristides Aquino, Shogo Akiyama and TJ Friedl. Almora has over four years of MLB service time, meaning he can be retained for another season via arbitration if he should earn his way back onto a 40-man roster.
No risk move for the Reds, it works out great it doesn’t well enjoy Louisville.
He will be a bum. So there’s no upside to this signing
How does this help the Reds?
He sure can’t hit at all. That seems to be the theme on all of the trades and signings. Not a single one of them can hit for power.
What he lacks in hitting he more than makes up for in his inability to draw walks.
That made me laugh!! Poor Albert.
It gives them another option of a outfielder who can’t hit should the other 11 outfielders, on the team, who can’t hit become injured.
LOL…Krall and Uncle Scrooge at it again!
Something that I’m surprised hasn’t made the headlines yet is that the dodgers signed Reyes Moronta who used to be a really good reliever for the Giants and has a lot of upside
I don’t think it qualifies as a crowded outfield. There isnt a true proven everyday player on the roster. Senzel has the talent, but can’t stay on the field. Naquin might be a starter. The rest are question marks
It’s crowded in the sense should MLB allow the Reds to play them all at the same time.
He hasn’t been the same since hitting that kid with a foul ball. It’s been a steady declined since then.
Imagine how she feels.
Permanent brain damage, it was a bad hit. It never should have happened. No one likes the nets but they’re necessary, especially if families with young kids are going to be sitting there.
Just pointing it out to all those saying he sucks, the timing of his decline correlates to that at bat.
I remember how devastated Almora was after that. He never regained his stroke as the incident & injury seemed to steal his passion. So sad.
People need to stop using this excuse for this guy. He wasn’t very good before the accident. He happened to be on a little hot streak prior, but he has never been very good with the stick.
Disagree. He did well from the time came up in 2016 until that day in May 2019. The article even states from 2016 to 2018, he hit .289/.326/.413, wRC+ of 96 plus some pretty stellar defense.. If that’s not good, then most of the baseball players aren’t good.
Phew! I was worried a mystery team would swoop in at the last minute and steal Almora.
These defense first prospects rarely ever pan out. The Cubs definitely gave him plenty of opportunities.
Now that is some serious dumpster diving. Even for a bad team like the Reds, if he gets any real playing time, something has gone wrong.
i don’t think he’s been right at the plate since he hit the kid in the stands. hoping for the best for him
not a major league hitter
Don’t tell the kid he hit with the line drive in Wrigley he can’t hit.. I think about him and others I’ve seen beaned with balls from time to time. I’ve been to games and sat behind the netting, nbd…Best thing baseball ever did.
The foul ball tragedy occurred in Houston, not Wrigley.
That’s an odd way to find out about a trade these days. But I guess that’s better than getting traded FROM a team and finding out by looking in your locker, seeing the name plate missing, and your gear replaced by a mop, a bucket, and a dozen rolls of toilet paper.