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Reds Select Dauri Moreta, Place Mike Moustakas On Injured List

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The Reds announced they’ve selected reliever Dauri Moreta to the big league roster. (Héctor Gómez of Z 101 previously reported Moreta’s impending call-up). Infielder Mike Moustakas has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 21, due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. To clear space on the 40-man roster for Moreta, Cincinnati designated R.J. Alaniz for assignment.

Moreta is up for his first call after spending six years in the minors. He signed with the Reds as a 19-year-old (three years older than most international amateur prospects) during the 2015-16 signing period. Moreta has worked exclusively out of the bullpen since signing, and immediately racked up huge strikeout totals. He partially offset that massive swing-and-miss stuff by issuing too many free passes early in his career, but Moreta has made significant strides as a strike-thrower in recent years.

In High-A in 2019, Moreta walked only 4.1% of opponents. That was half his walk percentage from Low-A the season prior and nowhere near the untenable control issues he’d shown in rookie ball. Moreta has retained that improved command even after the lost minor league campaign in 2020. He’s split this year between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, combining for a 1.02 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout percentage and just a 4.5% walk rate. Moreta’s strikeout tally fell precipitously after he made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A, but he’s continued to post highly effective bottom line results against top minor league hitters.

Adding Moreta to the bullpen mix bumps Alaniz from the roster. Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, the 30-year-old was promoted to the majors in mid-July. He’s worked just 2 2/3 big league innings this season, bringing his career total to 18 1/3. Alaniz has an 8.35 ERA at the big league level with worse than average peripherals.

While he’s yet to find big league success, the right-hander has had a nice season with Louisville. Across 39 frames of relief with the Bats, Alaniz owns a 3.46 ERA with a solid 26.9% strikeout rate and an average 10.2% walk percentage. Alaniz has previously been outrighted in his career, so he’d have the right to elect free agency and explore opportunities elsewhere if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Moustakas winds up back on the injured list with a right foot issue for the second time this season. In mid-May, he was placed on the IL due to a heel contusion. He suffered a setback during a minor league rehab appearance and wound up missing more than two months.

With just a week and a half left in the regular season, it’s possible this latest injury ends Moustakas’ season. The Reds have fallen four games behind the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card race, making them increasingly unlikely to reach the playoffs. Moustakas is hitting a career-worst .208/.282/.372, including a .177/.225/.313 line since he returned from the injured list. He’s guaranteed $38MM over the next two years (including a buyout on a 2024 club option). With Jonathan India having locked down second base, Moustakas and Eugenio Suárez — who’s having a very poor season himself — could be in line to split time at the hot corner moving forward.

Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson From Injured List

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SEPTEMBER 22: Cincinnati activated Stephenson from the injured list before this afternoon’s game against the Pirates. That indicates he did not test positive for the coronavirus. Kolozsvary was optioned back to Louisville to clear active roster space but will retain his spot on the 40-man roster. To open 40-man space for Stephenson, the Reds transferred Tejay Antone from the 10-day to the 60-day IL. Antone underwent Tommy John surgery last month.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Reds announced they’ve selected catcher Mark Kolozsvary to the big league club. Fellow backstop Tyler Stephenson has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Players on the COVID IL don’t count against the 40-man roster, so no additional moves were necessary.

A five-year minor league veteran, Kolozsvary is now in line for his first MLB opportunity. Selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Florida, he struggled offensively early in his pro career but was off to his best start this season. Koloszvary hit .233/.341/.438 over 170 plate appearances with Double-A Chattanooga, popping six home runs and drawing walks at a strong 11.8% clip. The right-handed hitter fanned in 31.2% of his trips to the plate there, but he flashed enough power and patience to make a decent offensive impact.

Kolozsvary took a hiatus from his time in the Reds’ system to join the U.S. National Team at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Somewhat ironically, he’s the second member of that team to get called up today, as the Indians are set to bring up outfielder-turned-reliever Anthony Gose as well. Kolozsvary went 4-21 in a brief look in international competition before returning to the Reds.

Cincinnati bumped Kolozsvary up to Triple-A Louisville last month. He hasn’t performed well in his first 53 plate appearances there, but will nevertheless get a chance to back up Tucker Barnhart while Stephenson’s unavailable. He gets that nod over Beau Taylor, a three-year big league veteran also at Louisville who’s already on the 40-man roster. Because Kolozsvary’s coming up to replace a player on the COVID IL, he can be removed from the 40-man and returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers. It could be a relatively short first stint then, but Kolozsvary would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if he’s not on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster at that point.

It’s not clear whether Stephenson’s on the IL for a positive test or if he’s simply a close contact or feeling virus-like symptoms. One of the game’s most promising young backstops, Stephenson came up very briefly last season but has gotten his first extended big league look in 2021. He’s off to a strong start, hitting .279/.368/.420 with nine home runs over 368 plate appearances (109 wRC+). Cincinnati has fallen three games back of the division-rival Cardinals in the race for the National League’s last playoff spot, and an extended absence from Stephenson would obviously make their hopes of tracking St. Louis down over the season’s final two weeks that much more difficult.

Reds Place Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama On 10-Day Injured List

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Just a day after returning from the 10-day injured list, Jesse Winker is heading back to the IL due to the same intercostal strain that sidelined him for over a month.  The Reds announced that both Winker and fellow outfielder Shogo Akiyama have been placed on the 10-day IL, with Akiyama suffering from a right hamstring strain.  The two open roster spots will be filled by outfielder TJ Friedl (whose contract was selected from Triple-A), and right-hander Art Warren, who was activated from the 60-day IL.

Winker was hit by a Brusdar Graterol pitch in the eighth inning of last night’s 3-1 win over the Dodgers, and had to be removed from the game for a pinch-runner.  Reds manager David Bell indicated that the swing prior to the HBP may have been the cause of Winker’s re-aggravation, but whatever the cause, Winker will now again miss time given this crucial stretch of the Reds’ season.

Given the timing, it is certainly possible that Winker might not play again in 2021.  He’ll miss at least the next 10 days, and even if he is able to return after this second intercostal issue, the Reds might not want to risk further injury if the team is already out of the playoff race.  This is technically the third time that Winker has been sidelined with this intercostal injury, as he missed a few games prior to his first IL stint in an attempt to solve the problem through some rest, before again being hampered when returning to action.

It’s a terrible break for both Winker and the Reds, as Winker’s bat is a major reason why Cincinnati is even in the postseason race.  Winker has 24 home runs and a .305/.394/.556 slash line over 485 plate appearances, with a 151 wRC+ that ranks fifth among all players with at least 450 PA.

Winker and Akiyama join Tyler Naquin (bruised ribs) on the IL, leaving the Reds suddenly thin in the outfield.  Aristides Aquino and Max Schrock have been serving as a left field platoon in Winker’s absence, with Delino DeShields getting action along with Naquin and Akiyama in center field.  With Akiyama now out, it opens the door for Friedl to make his Major League debut as the Reds play some of their most important games of the season.

Friedl joined the Reds as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and he has worked his way through the system up to the Triple-A level this year, where he has batted .264/.357/.422 with 12 homers in 448 PA.  Baseball America ranked Friedl 22nd on their midseason list of the top 30 prospects in Cincinnati’s farm system.  Friedl has experience at all three outfield positions and has spent the bulk of his time in center, so he could essentially slide right into Akiyama’s spot as a left-handed hitting complement to DeShields.

Warren’s return might also be no small matter for a Reds bullpen that is eager for fresh arms.  Warren posted a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings before being placed on the injured list due to an oblique strain back on July 15.  The right-hander has posted some big strikeout numbers since the start of the 2018 minor league season, which earned him a brief look on the Mariners’ roster during the 2019 season.  The Rangers claimed Warren from the Mariners after last season, and Cincinnati then acquired Warren in a trade with Texas last January.

Reds, Kyle Boddy Part Ways

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The Reds and pitching guru Kyle Boddy are ending their relationship after two seasons, per a press release from Boddy himself. Boddy and Driveline Baseball, his player development organization, surged into the public sphere not long ago as major disruptors in pitching innovation and date-driven development. The Reds’ hiring of Boddy as their minor league pitching coordinator suggested buy-in on Cincinnati’s side, as did their promotion of Boddy to Director of Pitching. That makes this split somewhat surprising, but the relationship clearly did not progress as planned.

What this means for the future of Reds’ development is unclear. Changing philosophies organization-wide can be a slow and clunky process, but it’s certainly possible that the Reds don’t plan to make wholesale changes. Still, moving on from such a public and outside-the-box hire suggests that the Reds will be moving in a different direction in terms of their minor league development strategy. Elsewhere around the game…

Reds Activate Jesse Winker From IL, Release Brad Brach

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The Reds announced Friday that outfielder Jesse Winker has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Fellow outfielder Tyler Naquin will head to the IL in his place due to bruised ribs, thus opening a spot on the active roster. Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Brad Brach, who was designated for assignment Monday, has been released.

Winker, 28, went down with an intercostal strain more than a month ago. His absence from the lineup has clearly been felt, as what was a powerhouse offense for Cincinnati early in the season now ranks 28th in the Majors with 96 runs scored over the past 30 days. Obviously, there’s more at play than just Winker’s injury with such a glaring downturn, but he’s been a huge part of the Reds lineup, batting .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs, 32 doubles and a triple through 481 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old Naquin was one of the Reds’ best hitters early in the season and, after a prolonged slump, heated back up for a blistering three week stretch to close out the month of August. From Aug. 11-30, he turned in a ridiculous .420/.474/.812 batting line with six homers, seven doubles and a triple through 76 plate appearances. He’s been banged up recently, however, missing much of the past week after a collision with teammate Jose Barrero. Naquin’s IL stint is retroactive to Sept. 14, so he can return in a week’s time if his ribs have healed sufficiently.

Brach, 35, was designated for assignment Monday after a rough stretch out of the Cincinnati ’pen. He got out to a brilliant start with the Reds, firing 20 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. His past 15 outings, however, have been an immense struggle. He’s totaled just 10 innings in that time and been tagged for 16 runs on 17 hits and nine walks with nine strikeouts. He missed a month of action himself due to a shoulder impingement, so it’s certainly possible he wasn’t pitching at 100 percent during that rapid downturn.

Cincinnati is 3-7 over its past 10 games and has lost possession of an NL Wild Card spot in recent days. The division-rival Cardinals hold a one-game lead over the Reds for that second spot, and the Padres are also a half-game up on the Reds as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Poll: Who Will Be The NL’s Second Wild Card Team?

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The Giants and Dodgers have both booked their tickets to the 2021 playoffs, though it remains to be seen which club will be NL West champions and which will have to walk the one-game tightrope that is the wild card game.  While the identity of the first NL wild card entry is an either/or situation, the battle for that second wild card slot is still completely wide-open with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Cardinals held a one-game lead in the standings heading into today’s action, and since the Cards aren’t playing today, they’ll still retain at least a half-game edge when they resume play tomorrow in a crucial three-game series against the Padres.  St. Louis wasn’t even a .500 team (53-55) on August 5, but the team has since gone 23-14 to re-establish itself as a contender.  Both Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill have been on fire at the plate since that August 5 date, while Adam Wainwright has continued to turn back the clock with an excellent season.  The Cardinals were criticized for a lack of big moves at the trade deadline, though new additions Jon Lester and J.A. Happ have been solid enough to help stabilize the rotation.  Following the three games with San Diego, the Cardinals’ remaining schedule is entirely against the Brewers and Cubs.

The Padres enter that pivotal St. Louis series going in the opposite direction.  For much of the season, it looked like both NL wild card slots would come from the West division, as San Diego battled alongside the Giants and Dodgers for supremacy.  However, San Diego’s 22-30 record since the All-Star break has left the Padres battling just to get into the postseason.  It has been more or less a team-wide funk over those 52 games, as the Padres rank 24th in baseball in both wRC+ (92) and pitching fWAR (2.5) in the second half, though the rotation at least has the excuse of multiple injuries.  It doesn’t help that the Padres also have a very tough remaining schedule — all of their remaining games are against the Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers, and Braves.

Even after today’s 1-0 victory over the Pirates, the Reds still have just five wins in their last 17 games, stumbling back in the standings after a nice surge in late July and early August.  Speaking of scheduling, Cincinnati hasn’t done well to take advantage of some weaker opponents, as that 17-game window has included losing series to such weaker opponents as the Marlins, Cubs, Tigers, and Pirates (and a 2-4 record against the Cardinals).  With 10 remaining games against the Pirates and Nationals, the Reds’ schedule still offers plenty of opportunity to bank wins, and the impending return of Jesse Winker should be a major boost to the Cincinnati lineup.

The Phillies still have a shot at the NL East even if they can’t capture the wild card, but after going 2-6 in their last eight games, the bottom line is that Philadelphia needs to get hot in a hurry.  The Phils begin a three-game set against the Mets tomorrow and face the Braves in a three-game series at the end of September, but the schedule is otherwise not difficult on paper — 10 games against the Orioles, Pirates, and Marlins.  While the bullpen and the back of the rotation continue to be an issue for the Phillies, MVP candidate Bryce Harper is doing his best to try and carry this inconsistent team into the playoffs.

The old “Miracle Mets” nickname might need to be dusted off if 72-75 New York can somehow squeak into the playoffs as either a wild card or as the NL East champions.  The Mets are five games out of the division lead and 5.5 games out of the wild card entering today, leaving them with essentially no margin for error the rest of the way.  Losing this series with the Phillies might all but officially end the Mets’ chances, but nine games against the Braves, Brewers, and Red Sox still loom on the upcoming schedule.

Just to cover our bases, the NL East-leading Braves will also be included in the poll just in case the Phillies or Mets do steal the division.  (Though one would imagine that in that scenario, the Braves would have to slump badly enough to take them out of wild card contention as well.)  Following a scorching hot 16-2 stretch in August, Atlanta is only 8-12 over its last 20 games, which is just enough to make things interesting in September.  The Braves end their season with six games against the Phillies and Mets, and also have a ten-game road trip featuring six games against the Padres and Giants sandwiched around a four-game set with the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks.

Who do you think will capture that second wild card slot? (Link to poll for app users)

Jesse Winker Could Return To Reds' Lineup By Friday

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Reds All-Star outfielder Jesse Winker began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. He’s played there each of the past two nights and will start for the Bats again this evening but could return to the big league club as soon as tomorrow, manager David Bell told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic). Cincinnati begins a difficult three-game set with the Dodgers this weekend.

Winker has been one of the game’s best hitters this season, following up on a fantastic shortened 2020 campaign with the best numbers of his career. Across 481 plate appearances, Winker owns a .307/.395/.560 line with 24 home runs. Even after accounting for Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly home ballpark, that offensive output checks in 52 percentage points above the league average by measure of wRC+, a mark that trails only Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatís Jr. and Juan Soto among players with more than 400 trips to the plate. Reinstalling that kind of impact bat into the order would be huge for a Reds’ team that enters play today one and a half games back of the division-rival Cardinals for the National League’s final playoff spot (with the Padres also half a game up on them in the standings).

Reds Designate Brad Brach For Assignment

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The Reds announced Monday that they’ve designated veteran right-handed reliever Brad Brach for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for infielder Kyle Farmer, who has been reinstated from the paternity list.

Brach, 35, joined the Reds earlier this year on a minor league pact and got out to a brilliant start with his new club. Through his first 20 innings in Cincinnati, Brach pitched to a 2.25 ERA with a strong 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a hefty 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. His 10.7 percent walk rate was a bit worse than league average but far from egregious.

It’s been a swift decline for Brach since that time, however. Over his past 15 appearances he’s managed only 10 innings and yielded 16 earned runs on 17 hits and nine walks with nine strikeouts (16.4 percent strikeout and walk rate alike). Brach missed nearly a month with a shoulder impingement along the way, which surely played no small part in his downfall after that hot start.

Brach was one of the game’s steadier setup men during his 2012-18 peak with the Padres and the Orioles. In 449 innings during that time, he logged a 3.05 ERA, fanned more than a quarter of the batters he faced (at a time when the league-wide strikeout rate was lower than it presently is) and averaged fewer than a homer allowed per nine innings pitched (0.92 HR/9) — no small feat given that five of those seasons were spent calling Oriole Park at Camden Yards his home stadium.

Brach has since spent time with the Cubs, Mets and Reds — in addition to a minor league deal with the Royals this past spring. He pitched quite well down the stretch for the ’19 Mets and parlayed that into a 2020 return to Queens, but he was hit hard in 12 1/3 innings last year. The consistency he once enjoyed has begun to elude him, but Brach’s work prior to the shoulder injury this season suggests he’s still a capable reliever when he’s right.

The Reds will place Brach on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days, and any club will be able to claim him for the final few weeks of the regular season. He’s a free agent at the end of the year.

Tyler Naquin Leaves Game Due To Bruised Ribs

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  • A sixth-inning collision between Reds teammates Tyler Naquin and Jose Barrero resulted in Naquin leaving the game with bruised ribs.  Naquin and Barrero were both in pursuit of a short fly ball from the Cardinals’ Dylan Carlson, but the ball eluded the duo in painful fashion, resulting in an RBI double for Carlson.  In positive news, Reds manager David Bell told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic) that there weren’t any concerns that either Naquin or Barrero suffered a concussion.  The Reds don’t play on Monday, so it seems likely that Naquin will get two full days off to recuperate, and it remains to be seen if the injured list will ultimately be required.

Reds Sign Tommy Milone, Release Ender Inciarte

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Catching up on a pair of minor league moves from late August, the Reds signed left-hander Tommy Milone to a minor league deal and released outfielder Ender Inciarte.  According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link), Inciarte opted out of the minors contract he signed with the Reds in early August.

Milone has already pitched twice for Triple-A Louisville as the veteran looks to work his way back to the majors.  Milone made it an 11th MLB campaign when he suited up for the Blue Jays earlier this season, tossing 14 innings and posting a 6.43 ERA.  Shoulder inflammation then resulted in a trip to the 60-day injured list, and Toronto released Milone last month after he began a rehab assignment.

Should Milone appear in a big league game with the Reds, it will mark the 10th different team of a journeyman career for the 34-year-old.  Working mostly as a starter over his career, Milone offers Cincinnati some depth as a potential fill-in starter or perhaps as a long reliever out of the bullpen.  It has been some time since Milone has been a truly effective hurler, as he has been plagued by the home run ball.  Since the start of the 2016 season, Milone has a 5.83 ERA over 308 2/3 innings, with an 18.4% home run rate over that stretch.

The Braves released Inciarte in late July, ending a six-year run in Atlanta that included the highs of a 2016 All-Star nod and three Gold Gloves, plus the lows of an offensive swoon.  Inciarte’s defense declined and his already below-average bat completely cratered, resulting in only a .200/.267/.277 slash line in 220 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season.  Inciarte is in the final guaranteed season of the five-year, $30.525MM extension he signed with Atlanta back in December 2016, so any team that signs Inciarte and adds him to their active roster for the remainder of the season will only owe him the prorated portion of a minimum salary (with the Braves footing the rest of the money owed).

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