Reds Rumors

Reds, Brandon Drury Agree To Deal

By Steve Adams | March 21, 2022 at 1:17pm CDT

Another day, another new sighting in the Reds’ clubhouse. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that veteran infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury has a locker with the Reds, signaling that the two parties have agreed to terms. Presumably, a deal with the Wasserman client will formally be announced once he passes a physical.

Drury, 29, spent the 2021 season with the Mets organization, appearing in 51 games at the big league level but primarily serving as a bench player. He logged just 88 plate appearances across those 51 contests and posted a strong .274/.307/.476 batting line with four homers and five doubles.

That was far and away Drury’s most productive showing in the past several seasons. The former 13th-round pick looked on his way to solidifying himself as a solid big league hitter with some defensive versatility back in 2016, when he hit .282/.329/.458 with 16 homers and 31 doubles in 499 plate appearances with the D-backs. He followed that with a solid enough .267/.317/.447 output in 2017, but Drury’s bat went dormant from 2018-20, when he mustered only a .205/.254/.346 triple slash through a combined 582 plate appearances.

Drury has played all over the diamond in the big leagues, although his most frequent positions have been second base (1264 innings) and third base (1082 innings). He’s also logged more than 400 innings in both outfield corners in addition to 139 innings at first base and 57 frames at shortstop.

The Reds are largely set at second base and third base, with reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India and veteran Mike Moustakas, respectively. Cincinnati also inked Donovan Solano to a one-year deal last week, and he can fill in at second, third and shortstop as needed. The outfield is a bit less certain following the trade of Jesse Winker, but the Reds still have Jake Fraley, Nick Senzel, Tyler Naquin, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino on the big league roster. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for Drury to win a roster spot — assuming this is a minor league deal, which seems likely — but injuries or further transactions could always open up playing time.

Injury Notes: Urias, Sims, Glasnow, Dobnak

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 11:03pm CDT

After suffering a left quad strain in yesterday’s Spring Training game, Luis Urias is facing at least a two-week layoff and is “questionable” for Opening Day, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters. Even if Urias does miss only 14 days, that won’t leave much time for Urias to ramp up to play in the Brew Crew’s first game on April 7, and even the two-week timeline is just a projection since Counsell noted that Urias will still get more tests.

While it doesn’t seem like Urias is facing too long a layoff, the Brewers will probably have to turn to their bench depth early to fill in for their starting third baseman. Milwaukee has multiple third base options but not really a true backup shortstop, as Urias was also seen as the top candidate to play short if Willy Adames needed a breather. If not Pablo Reyes (who only has a few career games as a shortstop), top prospect Brice Turang hasn’t yet made his MLB debut, and the Brewers probably don’t want to start his service clock until such limited circumstances.

More on other injury situations from around the Show…

Reds righty Lucas Sims won’t be on the team’s Opening Day roster since he more time to build up his arm, Sims and manager David Bell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Sims is healthy now, but is behind schedule since illness and back spasms interrupted his usual offseason work. “We can re-assess later but [first] make sure the build-up is done right and then we don’t rush into something and have a big deal,” Sims said. The absence could allow for other pitchers to step up into the closer void, as Sims has been favored as Cincinnati’s top choice for the ninth inning this season, assuming the Reds indeed have a set closer. The 27-year-old Sims moved to full-time relief work in 2019, and he has a 4.05 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate in 115 2/3 innings over the last three seasons, though control and home runs have been issues.
Tyler Glasnow won’t throw for 2-3 weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic ankle surgery on Friday, according to Rays broadcaster Neil Solondz (Twitter link). The procedure removed some loose bodies from Glasnow’s right ankle. While the procedure seems minor, the delay to Glasnow’s rehab from Tommy John surgery could end whatever hope the righty had of pitching in the 2022 season. Glasnow underwent his Tommy John surgery last August, thus giving him a narrow window to return this season if he hit the low end of the usual 12-15 month TJ recovery timeline.
The Twins have shut down Randy Dobnak due to continued soreness in the right-hander’s middle finger on his throwing hand, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park writes. It isn’t known how long Dobnak will be sidelined, though it appears as though he won’t be on the Opening Day roster. Dobnak initially sprained his finger back in late June, and then pitched in only one game the rest of the season due to a pair of 60-day IL placements. Even prior to the finger problems, Dobnak was already struggling through a rough year, and finished with a 7.64 ERA over 50 2/3 innings.

Reds’ Jose Barrero Expected To Miss Six Weeks With Hamate Injury

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 6:22pm CDT

Reds infielder Jose Barrero has been sidelined with a sore left wrist, and that injury has now been revealed as issue with his hamate bone, The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans reports (via Twitter). Barrero is going to visit a hand specialist for a second opinion, but the expectation is that he’ll miss six weeks of action.

The injury appears to have originally occurred earlier in the offseason, as Reds manager David Bell told The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters that Barrero “said he felt something this winter and took a little bit of time off, then it was fine. He did something on the field a couple of days ago that re-aggravated it. It’s one of those things without having the ability to talk to him [during the lockout], we had no idea that it was going on.”

The result is that Barrero looks set to begin the season on the injured list, which is an unfortunate setback for one of the Reds’ most promising youngsters. Barrero has seen a bit of action in each of the last two MLB seasons, hitting only .197/.242/.248 over 124 total plate appearances. Much more production came at the minor league level in 2021, as Barrero hit a combined .303/.380/.539 with 19 home runs over 380 plate appearances with Double-A Chattanooga (180 PA) and Triple-A Louisville (200 PA).

It was a nice showing for the player Baseball America ranks as the top prospect in Cincinnati’s farm system, and the 33rd-best prospect overall in the sport. According to BA’s scouting report, Barrero projects as “an above-average defender at shortstop,” and Reds GM Nick Krall said earlier this week that Barrero’s spring work would focus on the shortstop position rather than in center field. Barrero made seven appearances as a center fielder last year as Cincinnati looked for way to get him into the lineup, as Kyle Farmer emerged as the Reds’ regular shortstop.

Since Farmer can play multiple positions, Barrero isn’t exactly blocked as the potential shortstop of the future, though his development will be put on hold as he recovers from his hamate injury. With the Reds’ recent selloff of higher-priced veteran players, contending doesn’t seem to be the team’s top priority for 2022, so Barrero may likely get a longer stretch of playing time later in the season when he’s healthy and if the Reds have fallen out of the pennant race.

Reds To Sign Albert Almora

By Darragh McDonald | March 20, 2022 at 12:41pm CDT

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.

AL Notes: Correa, Tucker, Meadows, Winker, Upton

By Mark Polishuk | March 19, 2022 at 10:47pm CDT

Before Carlos Correa signed with the Twins, there was some increased buzz that Correa could be staying with the Astros, as Houston was reportedly working on a new contract offer and owner Jim Crane was getting involved in talks. However, in the aftermath of Correa’s departure, The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome hears from two sources that “the Astros were not close to reuniting with their shortstop.”

In fact, the Astros didn’t even make a new offer. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Astros “did not budge from” the five-year, $160MM deal the club offered Correa just prior to the opening of the free agent market in November. The exact level of these latest talks between Correa and the Astros aren’t known, but Rome wonders why the team didn’t explore a contract similar to the three-year, $105.3MM pact (with two player opt-outs) that Correa landed from Minnesota, or if such a deal simply wasn’t of interest to the Astros.

Reds To Sign Kyle Zimmer

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2022 at 4:54pm CDT

Right-hander Kyle Zimmer is in the Reds’ locker room, according to Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Presumably, he and the team have a minor league pact, based on the fact that Zimmer cleared waivers just before the lockout.

The righty was taken by the Royals with the fifth overall selection in the 2012 draft and was considered one of the better prospects in baseball in the years after that. Baseball America placed Zimmer on their Top 100 list four consecutive years from 2013 to 2016. Unfortunately, arm injuries have prevented Zimmer from reaching those lofty expectations thus far in his career.

In the shortened 2020 season, it seemed like maybe he was getting things back on track, throwing 23 innings with a 1.57 ERA. His 11% walk rate was high, but he did rack up strikeouts at an excellent 28.6% rate. He also seemed to be carrying that forward into 2021, with his ERA sitting under 3.00 into July. Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish strong and ended the year with a 4.83 ERA over 54 innings, with a meager 20.6% strikeout rate and 13.5% walk rate. He was released by the Royals in November.

For the Reds, they’ve been mostly focused on cost-cutting measures this offseason, with Wade Miley, Sonny Gray and Amir Garrett being notable subtractions from the pitching staff in the past few months. The 30-year-old Zimmer is a low-cost way of getting a former top prospect into the system. He has over two years of MLB service time and an option year remaining. If he’s able to show any of the previous form that made him successful in 2020, he could give Cincy a depth arm that could be shuffled between Triple-A and the majors, as well as being kept around via arbitration beyond this year.

Reds To Sign Sam McWilliams To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2022 at 12:04pm CDT

The Reds have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with righty Sam McWilliams, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic.

Originally drafted by the Phillies, McWilliams was part of a couple of trades as a prospect, going to the Diamondbacks for Jeremy Hellickson before later being flipped to the Rays as part of the Steven Souza Jr. trade.

In 2019, he got his first taste of Triple-A, struggling mightily at that level, putting up an ERA of 8.18 in 44 innings there. After the pandemic wiped out the minors in 2020, McWilliams reached free agency and signed a Major League deal with the Mets. Yet again, McWilliams struggled, throwing 8 1/3 innings in Triple-A and getting shelled to the tune of a 10.80 ERA. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Padres, struggling some more before being DFA’d again and clearing waivers.

Ghiroli recently wrote about McWilliams, providing insight into how all this came to be and why teams continue to be interested in the hurler. While the full story is worth a read for all the details, the short version is that McWilliams became a disciple of advanced analytics, greatly improving the speed, spin and shape of his pitches. However, he became overwhelmed in a sea of data and lost the ability to locate his pitches, developing a condition that is commonly known as “the yips.” The data certainly backs that up, as he had a 20.2% walk rate in the minors last year. (Average is usually in the vicinity of 8%.)

McWilliams is now changing his approach and hoping to make the journey back from his struggles, much like Tyler Matzek of the Braves. The yips kept Matzek out of baseball for years, but he made a remarkable comeback that led all the way to a World Series title last year. The Reds are hoping that McWilliams can similarly overcome these obstacles and find the best version of himself. The club has been primarily focused on cost-cutting recently, which involved subtracting Wade Miley, Sonny Gray and Amir Garrett from the pitching staff. Taking a flier on a pitcher like McWilliams is a no-risk way of trying to recoup some of those losses without a significant financial investment. McWilliams is only 26 years old and has yet to make his MLB debut. He also has a couple of option years remaining, meaning he could be a valuable depth option for the club if he can crack the roster.

Reds To Sign Colin Moran

By Steve Adams | March 17, 2022 at 3:29pm CDT

3:29pm: The Reds have now announced the signing of Moran to a one-year, Major League contract. He’s guaranteed $1MM on the deal, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

2:10pm: The Reds appear to have agreed to a deal with corner infielder Colin Moran, as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets that there’s a locker setup for the now-former Pirates infielder in the Reds’ clubhouse.

Moran, 29, was selected by the Marlins with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft but never played in the big leagues with Miami. Traded to the Astros alongside Jake Marisnick and Competitive Balance draft pick in exchange for Enrique Hernandez and righty Jarred Cosart, Moran got only a pair of brief looks in Houston before being traded to Pittsburgh along with Joe Musgrove as part of the deal that sent Gerrit Cole to the ’Stros.

After a pair of early trades, Moran finally got a long-term look with the Bucs, where he’s spent the past four seasons as a fixture in the lineup. After struggling defensively as Pirates’ primary third baseman from 2018-19, he moved across the diamond to begin logging more reps at first base. Moran’s glove has been better there, but defensive metrics are still fairly bearish on his glove overall.

Through 444 games and 1527 plate appearances with the Pirates, Moran posted a .269/.331/.419 batting line with 44 home runs, 71 doubles and a pair of triples. Moran walked in 8.1% of his plate appearances as a Pirate against a 22.1% strikeout rate. By measure of wRC+ and OPS+, Moran was a league-average hitter in his four years with the Pirates, who non-tendered him this past November rather than pay him a projected arbitration salary in the $4MM range.

While Moran’s glove isn’t going to win any awards and he struggles quite a bit against lefties, he’s a .280/.341/.440 hitter in his career versus right-handed pitching. Cincinnati has lefties Mike Moustakas and Joey Votto at the infield corners, so Moran seems likelier to get in some DH work against right-handed pitching at perhaps serve as the occasional pinch-hitter. At times in the past, Moran has looked as though he might have another gear at the plate; his average exit velocity in 2020 was a hearty 91.9 mph, and he posted excellent barrel and hard-hit rates, per Statcast (13.4% and 43.7%, respectively). Those numbers trended back down toward his career norms in 2021, however.

If the move to a fourth organization — and, more notably, to a much more homer-friendly ballpark — helps Moran take his offensive production to a new level, he could help Cincinnati beyond the 2022 season. With four-plus years of Major League service time, Moran is controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration.

The addition of Moran comes just a day after Cincinnati inked former Giants second baseman Donovan Solano to a one-year deal. The Reds have stripped down what was a competitive roster in 2021 by waiving Wade Miley and trading Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, Tucker Barnhart and Eugenio Suarez. While the Reds picked up a few prospects, the moves were made not in an effort to rebuild the farm so much as to simply cut payroll. GM Nick Krall opened the offseason by saying the team needed to “align payroll to our resources,” and rather than pursue the maximum possible return on Winker after an All-Star season, he was included in a package deal that was focused on shedding the remaining $35MM on Suarez’s contract.

Krall said yesterday that he’s now focused on adding to the roster, but it appears the Reds will mostly upgrade around the margins after subtracting several key players. Bringing Moran into the mix gives the team a recognizable name, particularly within the NL Central, and adds a competent platoon bat to the bench, but the current Reds roster looks quite a bit weaker than the one that finished the 2021 season at 83-79 and spent much of the season in the Wild Card hunt.

Reds Sign Donovan Solano, Buck Farmer

By Darragh McDonald | March 16, 2022 at 5:13pm CDT

5:13pm: Cincinnati has officially announced both deals. As expected, Farmer is in camp on a minor league contract as a non-roster invitee.

2:45pm: The Reds have signed infielder Donovan Solano to a contract worth $4.5MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. It was previously reported by various reporters, including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, that Solano had a locker in the Reds’ spring clubhouse, along with right-hander Buck Farmer.

Solano, 34, spent many years as a classic journeyman, bouncing from the Cardinals to the Marlins, Yankees and Dodgers, playing 370 MLB games from 2012 to 2018. Prior to the 2019 season, he signed a minor league deal with the Giants and has quietly had an excellent showing for San Fran over the past three campaigns. In that time, he’s gotten 775 plate appearances and hit .308/.354/.435, for a wRC+ of 114. He mostly slotted in at second base but also saw some time at third base and shortstop for the Giants.

The Reds don’t really need help at the keystone as they have Jonathan India, last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, slotted in there. Third base is a bit more open, however, in the wake of this week’s trade of Eugenio Suarez. The club could use Mike Moustakas as their everyday third baseman but he dealt with multiple injuries last year and only got into 62 games. Now that National League teams are able to use the designated hitter, Moustakas could be a good candidate for slotting into the DH role. There’s also the possibility of a platoon, as Moustakas hits from the left and Solano from the right. Solano’s career spits aren’t drastic, but he did put up a wRC+ of 121 against lefties last year, compared to just 96 against righties.

As for Farmer, the 31-year-old has spent his entire big league career up until now with the Tigers, who drafted him in 2013. Over the past seven seasons, he has appeared in 241 games, mostly as a reliever, throwing 320 2/3 innings with a 5.33 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate.

The club released him in August, at which point Farmer signed a minor league deal with the Rangers but never cracked their big league roster. Presumably, his deal with the Reds is a minor league deal as well.

GM: Reds Do Not Expect To Trade Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle

By Steve Adams | March 16, 2022 at 2:57pm CDT

Although the Reds’ offseason has consisted primarily of cutting payroll, general manager Nick Krall suggested to reporters this afternoon that his focus will now shift to adding to the roster rather than subtracting (Twitter link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Specifically regarding sought-after right-handers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, Krall stated: “I don’t see us moving any of those two players.”

Cincinnati’s offseason kicked off with Krall ominously stating that the organization needed to “align our payroll to our resources.” Those comments came in conjunction with the decision to waive Wade Miley and his $10MM salary following a strong season and to trade former Gold Glove-winning catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Tigers.

Following the lockout, the Reds traded veteran right-hander Sonny Gray to the Twins and attached third baseman Eugenio Suarez (still owed $35MM) to All-Star left fielder Jesse Winker in order to get the Mariners to take on the remaining salary. Cincinnati acquired prospects in both those post-lockout deals — pitchers Brandon Williamson and Chase Petty most notably — but the broader takeaway was that those trades trimmed nearly $50MM in payroll off the books.

There has indeed been something of a shift in philosophy today, as the Reds took on more than $7MM in salary when they flipped Amir Garrett to the Royals in exchange for veteran starter Mike Minor. They’ve also agreed to a $4.5MM deal with veteran infielder Donovan Solano. The moves certainly don’t make up for the losses of Miley, Gray and Winker, at least in terms of competitive expectations, but they do at least push back against the teardown narrative that had formed.

While some will wonder whether this is mere posturing, it’s rare for an executive to make public comments of this nature only to later walk them back. It’s possible that a team could simply overwhelm the Reds and force them to part with either Castillo or Mahle, both of whom are controlled via arbitration through the 2023 season, but it now seems likelier that they’ll open the year in the rotation alongside the newly acquired Minor.

If Castillo and Mahle are indeed off that market, that’s music to the ears of the Athletics, who surely won’t be making any such public declarations regarding lefty Sean Manaea and right-hander Frankie Montas. The A’s have already traded Matt Olson, Matt Chapman and Chris Bassitt as they look to trim payroll and stock back up on young talent, and it stands to reason that with heavy interest in both Manaea and Montas, further trades will follow suit. Subtracting Castillo and Mahle from the market only reduces the supply of available starters on the market and enhances Oakland’s bargaining power.

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