Reds outfielder Nick Senzel underwent surgery to repair a fractured toe on his left foot last week, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training, but it looks as if his offseason routine could be impacted to some extent.
Senzel fractured the toe after he crashed into the outfield wall in pursuit of a fly ball in September. The injury ended his season a couple weeks early, and Nightengale writes that recent imaging showed the toe wasn’t healing itself properly, necessitating surgery. Despite the early conclusion, Senzel saw the most action of his MLB career in 2022. He appeared in 110 games and tallied 420 plate appearances, narrowly topping marks he established as a rookie in 2019.
It was another tough year for the former second overall pick, who managed only a .231/.296/.306 line with five home runs. Senzel also rated 11 runs below average defensively in center field, and both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference graded his overall performance below replacement level. The University of Tennessee product has now tallied just north of 1000 big league plate appearances over the last four years, hitting .240/.303/.360.
That kind of production is surely not what the Reds had envisioned when selecting Senzel so highly in the draft. That said, it’s also possible injuries have conspired to prevent him from getting into a groove to this point in his career. He battled vertigo as a prospect, then saw his 2019 season cut short by surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder. He lost a chunk of the 2020 season on the COVID-19 list, then missed most of the ’21 campaign rehabbing from a left knee issue that required arthroscopic surgery.
The Reds tendered Senzel an arbitration contract last week, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $2.2MM salary next season. The 27-year-old is eligible for arbitration through 2025, but next year could be Senzel’s last crack at cementing himself as a long-term fixture on the Cincinnati roster.
He’s presently the favorite for the starting center field job, but Nightengale suggests the Reds could look for outside help at the position. That’d presumably be via the lower tier of free agency or the trade market and would push Senzel more into a multi-positional role off the bench. General manager Nick Krall told reporters last week Senzel was an option to factor in at third base, the position at which he was drafted. He’s only played 32 MLB innings at the hot corner while logging just over 2000 frames in the outfield.
Maybe the Reds could ask for volunteers, since they almost certainly won’t be willing to pay someone to play CF.
They do have Nick Solak so between the two they should be Nick’d in Center Field
Nick Solar who is injured as much as Nick Senzel and who hit .207 last season?
Why wouldn’t the reds be in on bellinger ? Every team is loaded with funds. He’s an easy write off and the type of investment reds make every season to try to strike mid season gold with.
Reds have feelers out for him and if bellinger is smart – he’ll go to reds and re-establish himself w no pressure in a hitter friendly park
They have the money, but I bet Bellinger goes to a contender… Texas seems a good fit for him..
He should have been a AAA member, then he could get a free Toe Truck
Hard to believe Nick Senzel was once the second overall pick. The Reds have jerked him around so much. Moving him from 3B to 2B to CF and now talking about moving him back to 3B. What they have done to that young man’s career has been criminal.
I am all for attacking the Reds for spending too little on their roster.
But while I like Nick Senzel as a player and wish him success, I do not blame the team for his series of injuries and health issues. The positional moves were to give him a chance at playing time as he slipped down the depth chart. Jonathan India, Noelvi Marte and even Spencer Steer also show more promise at this point, so Senzel is likely to be an outfielder or a utility.
CF is hardly a move down the depth chart.
I mean that as he moved down the depth chart in positions where the Reds had better alternatives, they then considered him for positions where the alternatives were weaker
The Reds have no better options at any position. They messed Senzel up right after they drafted him. They always do that stuff to young players. India was strong at 3B as well. Changed him to 2B and missed the window to get anything of value in trade for Suarez. It’s just what they do over and over and over.
Quit with the positional movement excuse. If you’re a star, you’ll adapt. This is nonsense.
Dude has vertigo. A condition that leaves many unable to drive a car yet he still is able to play Major League Baseball. He was as sure fire as a prospect as anyone in past decade until he ended up with vertigo. You can go back tract his stats and see exactly when it happened in his career. If it wasn’t for that – senzel would be one of the premier players in baseball right now. 100%
I’m not a doctor, but as far as I know, it hasn’t impacted him in a while. Again, he just didn’t develop. Big deal. Happens all the time.
It’s a life long condition. In 2017 he hit 321/391/514. He had 40 doubles w 14 homers and 14 steals in 119 games in AA. He already broke out. He did that in college. Then was diagnosed with vertigo in 18 and he hasn’t hit 40 doubles since.
To be fair, that was in the minor leagues.
I am open to the idea that the vertigo has impacted his career, my point is that it is not the Reds’ fault, even though so many other criticisms may be leveled at their ownership. The once mighty Big Red machine is a shadow of what it used to be. But Senzel’s health, not so much on them.
To be fair, astick doesn’t know Jack about it
He’s never hit, even when healthy.
Definitely not the five tool guy he was hyped to be…
A tale of a clueless baseball organization
they could be worse, they could be the Pirates
Wow, thanks so much.
As bad as the Reds and Pirates have been lately they are 2 of the 8 teams who have won at least 5 World Series. There are 22 other teams who would be happy to say the same.
Baseball was far different the last time either was in a World Series. There are generations of fans for these teams that have pretty much known nothing but failure.
You need to be pushing close to 60 for the pirates last championship and 40s for the reds.
I gave up on the reds last year. I’m tired of small market baseball where you either only get very small windows if everything breaks right or have no players last more than four or five years.
I can assure you nobody cares about the 1919 and 1940 championships and the 75-76 are close to ancient history.
Young fans don’t care about 50 year plus championships.
I at least got to see 1990. I don’t see the reds winning another in my lifetime.
I was fortunate enough to see the Big Red Machine which was one of the all time best MLB teams. I agree with most everything else you said. . I feel pretty safe in saying it will be quite a while before the Reds win another World Series. It starts at the top and the top is the problem.
I was 12 when they won in 90 and that was an amazing series the way they swept the A’s who everybody thought was going to sweep them. From Eric Davis going deep in the bottom of the first to Joe Oliver doubling in Billy Bates in extra innings to win game 2, illy Hatcher hitting .700 for the series and Jose Rijo dominating on his way to MVP, I’m thankful to have those highlights because some fan bases never even get to experience that feeling. I just missed being alive for the Big Red Machine but thanks to the magic of dvd I’ve been able to see the 75 and 76 series. If I’m not mistaken the Reds have the longest active World Series win streak at 9 games.
Queue the broken record.
Best of wishes to Nick, hope he’s able to recover quick.
Why wait until almost Thanksgiving? Why not the day after the season?
The article literally explains why.
We have seen this time after time with injuries not signboard properly and well into the off-season suddenly there is surgery and they miss a great deal of the next season.
As someone who lives with a medical professional, I can tell you that they knew surgery would be needed a long time ago. So they chose a lot of wishing over action? It doesn’t get worse over time unless you abuse it.
Sometimes things don’t heal properly and require intervention.
Which is what happened here.
“As someone who lives with a medical professional” … Did you actually “make the case” that you know more than the team doctors just because you live with someone?
Wow, just wow.
With the team doctors’ history, just say I am dubious at the level of their competence.
He has about run out of chances. But it is the Reds who have no one else in line for CF. For that matter they don’t have a decent RF or LF candidate either.. As of today their OF is pretty barren offensively.
Just cut him already…he’s a china doll and sucks
Because he is still good enough to be a utility and teams hate to give up on their highly rated prospects
OK he’s just inventing injuries at this point. I can’t remember the last baseball player who needed toe surgery.
Jordan Lyles had the big toe equivalent of Tommy John surgery a few years ago when he was with the Rockies.
DJ LeMahieu is currently mulling whether or not to have surgery on his fractured toe.
Sargent Hulka could handle CF… he could be our big toe..
but..he’s not always gonna be there to be our big toe.
Haha!
Is this guy hurt more than Buxton?
My GOD SIR i will not abide the loss of ANOTHER TOE
You know, Connecting every FA with about 20-25 teams in different articles isn’t really a rumor site anymore. It’s more like taking an AK-47 to a carnival shooting gallery and shouting ” I did it, I got em all!
Basically hitting all the check marks for a bust:
Never improved from his rookie season.
Constant injuries popping up.
Lingering injuries and taking too long to get them taken care of.
Not hitting when receiving playing time.
Unable to stake a claim to a wide open starting lineup position for multiple years.
The upside to sucking is that nobody in the organization wants to rush you off the IL. It’s clearly Senzel’s best position – sad but true.
Toe-me John surgery
I got a kick out of that one.
Nick had to get approval from Joe Toe-rre..
Toe-tally funny
His next ailment will be toe-main posioning..
In that ballpark, this guy does nothing.
He just can’t toe the line.
He just needs more time, after all toe-morrow is another day.
A smash hit by the band Toe Toe
Jay is just saying he wasn’t Toe-rific
#brandonlarson
This guy has had so many injuries he’s been with the big team for 5 years and still classifies as a rookie.
No reason to pile on here. We can’t blame Senzel for all this. I’m sure if it was up to him he’d have won three MVPs by now. Can’t blame front office because by all accounts Nick was the best hitter in the draft and labeled “can’t miss”. Just a swing and miss by a team that can’t afford to waste a high draft pick
With all the injuries, Senzel’s career would play well in an episode of M*A*S*H, only without the laugh track.
cut him Bob!
I don’t see it mattering a whole heck of a lot if they keep him full time, part time, trade him or DFA him. Point is the Reds are probably not going to win a wild card with or without him. It’s all about getting the young guys playing time so they mature and get better so that in 24-25 they are a good enough team to realistically compete for a wild card. That’s what a rebuild is all about. As far as 3B goes I would make it Steer’s to lose.
Well I see the future then being:
C Stephenson (and pray he’s healthy)
1B Encarnacion-Strand
2B India
3B Marte
SS McLain
LF Steer
CF De La Cruz
RF Hendricks
DH Lopez
SP Greene, Lodolo, Ashcraft, Abbott, Williamson
RP Sims, Antone, Gutierrez, Rao, Stoudt
CP Diaz
I’m sure there are pitching prospects I forgot and some of the guys I marked as relief are potential starters but I don’t we them beating out the other five.
Now patience to get to this potential talent being productive will be paramount.
Should that keep them from adding guys trying to reestablish themselves (Conforto, Bellinger, etc.) to one year deals to give the fans something good to watch next year? Absolutely not.
Problem is this group only has 3-4 years together to win anything before they start going free agent and getting big bucks from the 6-8 teams elsewhere who can afford it.