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Ty France Elects Free Agency

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves Friday, most notably revealing that first baseman Ty France cleared waivers and elected free agency. He would’ve been arbitration-eligible and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.6MM in his final season of club control. Today’s outright and subsequent free agency election is effectively an early non-tender.

Cincinnati also passed catcher Austin Wynns, righty Tejay Antone and outfielder Nick Martini through waivers unclaimed. Like France, Wynns and Martini opted for free agency. Antone accepted an outright assignment and will remain with the club and continue mending from the third elbow surgery of his career.

France, 30, was an offensive force for his first three years with the Mariners from 2020-22, hitting a combined .285/.355/.443 with 42 homers, 68 doubles and three triples in 1418 plate appearances. He rarely struck out (16.7%), hit plenty of line drives and, after spending much of his minor league career playing other positions, worked his way into becoming an above-average defender at first base.

The 2023 season was a step back in all regards. France’s batting line slipped to .250/.337/.366 — still respectable but nowhere near his prior levels, particularly in the power department. His production dwindled further this year, and the Mariners designated him for assignment after he mustered only a .223/.312/.350 line in 88 games. The Reds swung a trade to acquire France in hope that a change of scenery would improve his output. France’s rate stats modestly improved, but not to the extent that one might hope when going from the league’s most pitcher-friendly stadium in Seattle to its most homer-happy park in Cincinnati. He finished the year at .234/.305/.365 between the two clubs.

France will now head to the free-agent market for the first time but do so coming off a sub-optimal platform spanning two years of struggles. He’ll likely be limited to one-year offers and guarantees well shy of the $8.6MM he’d been projected to earn in arbitration.

Wynns, 33, is the consummate journeyman backup catcher. He’s a career .230/.277/.332 hitter in 673 plate appearances split among five big league teams. He’s been with six different organization since the Orioles selected him in the tenth round of the 2013 draft. Wynns is regarded as a sound defender but has never provided much from an offensive standpoint.

Martini, 34, cracked the Reds’ Opening Day roster and belted a pair of homers in their first game of the season. It was downhill from there, however. He hit just .204/.266/.324 over his next 159 plate appearances before suffering a sprained thumb that ended his season in early July. Martini is a career .294/.399/.454 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A seasons and a .252/.336/.400 hitter in 575 big league plate appearances.

Reds Outright Alan Busenitz

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Reds right-hander Alan Busenitz went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Louisville, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll have the opportunity to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though he can become a minor league free agent at season’s end anyhow. Cincinnati also reinstated outfielder/designated hitter Nick Martini from the 60-day injured list and opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring southpaw Brandon Williamson from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Martini was optioned rather than being added to the active roster.

Busenitz, 34, has allowed six runs in four innings with Cincinnati this season and eight runs in 11 frames over the past two seasons combined. The journeyman right-hander has spent the bulk of his time with the Reds organization in Triple-A, He’s had a solid season in Louisville this year, logging 66 1/3 innings of 4.07 ERA ball with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.

Busenitz came to the Reds organization on a minor league deal after a nice four-year run in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he worked to a 2.83 ERA across four seasons with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Prior to that NPB stint, he pitched in parts of two seasons with the Twins, posting a 1.99 ERA in 31 2/3 innings as a rookie in 2017 before being shelled for a 7.82 ERA in 25 1/3 innings the following season. In all, he’s pitched 68 big league innings with a 4.90 ERA.

Martini tore a ligament in his thumb back in July on a headfirst slide into second base. He underwent surgery a couple days later and ultimately missed more than two months of action. The 34-year-old opened the season on a tear, blasting a pair of Opening Day homers and hitting .290/.303/.677 through his first 11 games. He then fell into a prolonged slump before being optioned to Louisville in early May. The well-traveled outfielder hit .212/.272/.370 in 162 plate appearances with the Reds and carries a career .252/.336/.400 line in 575 big league plate appearances. The Reds can control him for another four seasons, but there’s a good chance he’ll be removed from the 40-man roster after the season and wind up a minor league free agent.

Reds Select Tony Santillan

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Tony Santillan. To make room or Santillan on the 40-man and active rosters, outfielder Nick Martini was transferred to the 60-day injured list while right-hander Carson Spiers was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement.

It’s far from Santillan’s first stint in the majors with Cincinnati. The 27-year-old was a second-round pick by the club back in 2015 and made his debut with the club back in 2021, when he was one of the club’s top relievers. In 43 1/3 innings of work that season, Santillan posted a strong 2.91 ERA (162 ERA+) despite a somewhat lackluster 4.62 FIP in 26 games. While Santillan struck out an excellent 29.5% of opponents, his 11.1% walk rate and his seven homers allowed both weighed that down somewhat.

Those issues, combined with a back strain that sidelined Santillan for much of the 2022 campaign and the early part of the 2023 season, left the right-hander on the outside looking in of the club’s bullpen mix going forward, however. Over those two injury-marred seasons, Santillan struggled to a 5.09 ERA with a 4.52 FIP, 19.3% strikeout rate, and 14.9% walk rate while pitching just 23 total frames in the majors. His work in the minors last year wasn’t much better, as he was torched to the tune of a 7.88 ERA in 35 appearances at the Triple-A level last season.

Despite that rough performance, the Reds nonetheless re-signed Santillan to a minor league deal this past offseason, and that decision has largely paid off. The righty has looked much better at Triple-A this season than he did a year ago, posting a 3.49 ERA with a 3.87 FIP in 38 2/3 innings of work as a single-inning reliever. While his 13.2% walk rate is still elevated as ever, his strikeout rate has bounced back in a big way to compensate: he’s fanned 30.5% of opponents this year. That high strikeout rate was a big part of what made him so successful in 2021, and given that it’s hardly a surprise that the Reds would be interested in seeing what he can do at the big league level.

Making room for Santillan on the Cincinnati roster is Spiers, who has emerged as a quality middle relief arm for the Reds this year after struggling in his first taste of big league action last season. The 26-year-old posted an ERA north of 6.00 in 13 innings of work in 2023 but has emerged looking far better this season with a solid 3.83 ERA and even more impressive numbers under the hood while swinging between the rotation and bullpen this year. While Spiers has only struck out 20.5% of batters faced this year, an excellent 4.5% walk rate has left him with a 3.51 FIP and a 3.86 SIERA, both of which are well above average marks. Fortunately, Spiers told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer) this afternoon that his injury figures to be only a short-term issue and that he expects to miss just one start.

As for Martini, the outfielder’s transfer to the 60-day IL is hardly a surprise given the fact that he underwent surgery on his thumb earlier this week. Martini’s timetable for return isn’t entirely clear, though he’s expected to be able to return before the end of the year. That return now won’t come until after September 5, 60 days after he was first sidelined by the injury. In 163 trips to the plate with the Reds this year, Martini has slashed a lackluster .212/.272/.370.

Reds’ Nick Martini Undergoes Thumb Surgery

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Reds outfielder/designated hitter Nick Martini underwent surgery yesterday to repair ligament damage in his thumb, manager David Bell informed the team’s beat (X link via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer). A firm timeline for his recovery wasn’t provided, but Bell noted there’s still a chance Martini could return before season’s end.

Martini was placed on the injured list over the weekend due to an issue in his left thumb. He suffered the injury when he jammed his thumb on a headfirst slide into second base the day prior. The 34-year-old Martini got out to a blistering start in 2024, ripping a pair of Opening Day homers and batting .290/.303/.677 through his first 11 games. He then fell into a prolonged slump before being optioned to Triple-A Louisville on May 7.

Martini has twice been optioned to Louisville this season, and both times he’s laid waste to upper-minors pitching. In 60 plate appearances, he’s delivered a .340/.467/.681 batting line with four homers and as many walks as strikeouts (11). That certainly suggests the thumb hadn’t been bothering him prior to that ill-fated slide and that the bulk or entirety of the damage came on that one isolated play.

The overall .212/.272/.370 slash that Martini has turned in this season for the Reds is quite a ways below par, but he has a history of drawing walks and posting solid OBPs at the MLB level. In 575 MLB plate appearances, Martini is a .252/.336/.400 hitter. He’s also consistently been an OBP machine in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .295/.400/.451 in 2246 career plate appearances.

Martini will get big league pay and service time while he mends from that surgery. The injury could also give the Reds some 40-man roster flexibility, as it seems quite possible based on Bell’s nebulous recovery timeframe that he’ll require 60 days on the injured list.

Reds Select Blake Dunn

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville, with infielder/outfielder Nick Martini optioned in a corresponding move. They already had an open 40-man spot after first baseman Mike Ford was designated for assignment last week.

Dunn, 25, was a 15th-round selection of the Reds in 2021 and collected a bonus of $125K. As one would expect with that modest draft selection and bonus, Dunn wasn’t considered one of the club’s top prospects, but he has improved his stock with some strong play lately.

Last year, he got into 124 minor league contests, split between High-A and Double-A. He drew a walk in 11.1% of his 559 plate appearances and also hit 23 home runs. He finished the year with a combined batting line of .312/.425/.522 and a 158 wRC+ while also stealing 54 bases and playing all three outfield positions.

Coming into 2024, Baseball America ranked him the #14 prospect in the organization while FanGraphs had him at #15, though he hasn’t carried over his tremendous offensive showing from 2023. The Reds bumped him to Triple-A and his walk rate is up to 13.3% but his strikeouts are also up to a 30.6% rate, a big jump from last year’s 23.3% clip. He’s slashing .223/.348/.378 on the year overall, production which translates to a 94 wRC+.

Even with the bat seeming to take a bit of a step back, Dunn could still be useful with his speed and defense. He’s swiped another nine bags already this year without being caught. The Reds have a regular outfield rotation consisting of left-handed hitters TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Jacob Hurtubise and Will Benson, as well as the right-handed hitting Stuart Fairchild.

Since Dunn is also a righty, perhaps he will take some playing time in the short side of a platoon and shield some of those lefty swingers from tough southpaws, while also doing some pinch running and taking some late-game defensive replacement duties. He’s hitting .250/.298/.558 against lefties so far this year, compared to just .208/.372/.281 without the platoon advantage. Dunn will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Reds Select Conner Capel

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Conner Capel while also activating outfielder TJ Friedl and right-hander Frankie Montas from their respective stints on the injured list. The club had optioned left-hander Sam Moll yesterday and opened up two more roster spots today by optioning outfielders Nick Martini and Bubba Thompson. To open a 40-man spot for Capel, right-hander Ian Gibaut was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Capel, who turns 27 this month, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He has been in Triple-A so far this year and performing quite well. Through 122 plate appearances, he has walked almost as often as he’s struck out, with a 16.4% walk rate compared to a 17.2% strikeout rate. He’s hit seven home runs and has a batting line of .268/.397/.567, which translates to a 146 wRC+.

The outfielder has 145 major league plate appearances on his résumé with a slash line of .280/.366/.408. He struggled in Triple-A last year, which caused the Athletics to bump him off their roster, but he hit .263/.364/.422 in the minors in 2022 for a 112 wRC+.

On top of that mostly solid offensive work in the past few years, Capel can steal a few bases and move around the outfield. He’s been playing both left and center field this year, with some past experience in right field as well. He has swiped six bags so far here in 2024, with double-digit tallies in most of his previous minor league seasons.

The Reds came into the season with seemingly too many position players, but that apparent surplus evaporated fairly quickly. Noelvi Marté was hit with an 80-game PED suspension, Matt McLain required shoulder surgery and Friedl suffered a wrist fracture. Lately, some players have been missing time without going on the IL, including Jake Fraley, Tyler Stephenson, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario.

That led to some extra playing time for players like Martini and Thompson. Martini hit two homers on Opening Day but has added just one more since then and is currently batting .177/.200/.329 for the season overall. Thompson is one of the fastest players in the league but hasn’t hit much. With the Reds this year, he has struck out in 11 of his 18 plate appearances.

Friedl has hit .267/.341/.456 in his career and should give a boost to the lineup. Capel could as well, but it’s also possible he’s behind Friedl, Will Benson, Spencer Steer and Fraley on the outfield/designated hitter depth chart. But perhaps he’ll fill Thompson’s role as a speedy bench outfielder, though with better abilities in the batter’s box. Capel still has an option remaining and can be easily sent back down to the minors at a later date if the Reds so choose.

Montas hit the IL a couple of weeks ago after being hit by a comebacker on his right forearm. The x-rays were negative but the club wanted to give him a breather as the soreness and swelling went down. He has now returned after a minimum stay on the IL, as hoped. Nick Martinez made a couple of starts in his absence but made a relief appearance on the weekend. Montas will slot into the rotation alongside Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft.

Gibaut, 30, has been on the injured list all year due to a right forearm strain. He has tried rehabbing a couple of times but keeps getting shut down with renewed soreness. Just over a week ago, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer relayed on X that the righty was shut down again and going for another exam. Today’s transfer means he’s ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be late May. That doesn’t seem to be possible at the moment since he’s not throwing and would need some time to ramp even if he is soon cleared to throw.

Reds Select Nick Martini, Designate Henry Ramos For Assignment

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today involving four outfielders. Michael Siani was recalled from Triple-A Louisville and Nick Martini was selected to the roster while Stuart Fairchild was placed on the seven-day concussion list, retroactive to Monday, and Henry Ramos was designated for assignment.

Martini, 33, returns to the big leagues for the first time since 2021. He spent last year with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .296/.365/.461 over 139 games. He parlayed that into a return to affiliated ball, signing a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He’s spent all of this year in Triple-A so far, hitting 15 home runs in 93 games while drawing walks in 14.4% of his plate appearances. His .275/.393/.481 line at that level amounts to a wRC+ of 121, indicating he’s been 21% above league average.

He’ll now get another chance to bring that production up to the majors, something that has generally eluded him in his career. His 2,186 Triple-A plate appearances have resulted in a strong line of .294/.398/.445 but his major league batting line is just .270/.369/.369, with most of his major league success coming with the A’s back in 2018.

He’s mostly been playing the outfield corners for Louisville this year, though has also spent some time at first base and had a brief look in center. The Reds have been using an outfield of Will Benson, TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer of late. Martini and Siani will replace Fairchild and Ramos as depth options, alongside TJ Hopkins.

As for Ramos, 31, he has been on and off the Reds’ roster this year. Signed to a minor league deal in the winter, he has twice had his contract selected and has now twice been designated for assignment. He’s taken 86 trips to the plate and has slashed .243/.349/.311 in those. His 54 Triple-A games have resulted in a much stronger .315/.399/.522 line. The last time he was DFA’d, he cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, which is a process that could play out again in the coming days.

Reds Sign Nick Plummer, Nick Martini To Minors Contracts

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The Reds have signed Nick Plummer and Nick Martini to minor league deals, according to the team’s MLB.com transactions page.  Neither player was on the Reds’ initial list of non-roster players at Spring Training, though it is possible either player has received an invite to Cincinnati’s big league spring camp.

Plummer got his first taste of the majors last season, as he hit .138/.194/.379 over 31 plate appearances in 14 games with the Mets.  Despite the lack of MLB experience, the Mets signed Plummer to a Major League deal last winter after he became a minor league free agent, leaving the Cardinals for a new opportunity in New York.  While the move paid off for Plummer in the form of his debut in the Show, the Mets designated him for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August, and the 26-year-old Plummer again entered the open market once the offseason began.

St. Louis chose Plummer with the 23rd overall pick of the 2015 draft, but he produced only sporadic results in the minor leagues.  It seemed like Plummer had broken out with a .280/.415/.479 slash line over 477 combined PA for the Cardinals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2021, but that wasn’t enough to get him a look on the Cards’ big league roster.  The outfielder couldn’t keep up the production with the Mets’ Triple-A team this year, batting a more modest .238/.330/.379 in 270 PA.

Martini, 32, also began his pro career as a Cardinals draft pick, selected in the seventh round back in 2011.  He broke into the majors with the Athletics in 2018, and hit .270/.369/.369 over 333 PA and 112 games with the A’s, Padres, and Cubs from 2018-21.  This is actually the second time Martini has been part of Cincinnati’s organization, as the Reds took Martini off waivers from the Padres in November 2019, only to lose him to the Phillies on another waiver claim less than two months later.

In 2022, Martini headed to the Korea Baseball Organization, and hit an impressive .296/.365/.461 with 16 homers over 576 PA with the NC Dinos.  This production comes pretty close to Martini’s .298/.399/.437 slash line in 1769 career PA at the Triple-A level, and while will tell if Martini is ultimately a “Quad-A” type of player, his knack for getting on base has carried over to all levels during his career.

Martini has been a corner outfielder and first baseman over the last few seasons, while Plummer has experience at all three outfield spots.  They’ll combine to give the Reds more options to consider within a crowded but unsettled outfield mix.  Nick Senzel, Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl, Wil Myers, Nick Solak, Stuart Fairchild, minor league signing Chad Pinder and more could all be line for outfield time, though some of those players (i.e. Myers, Pinder, Solak) also have flexibility at other positions.

Recapping The KBO League’s International Player Signings

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With the lockout slowing MLB-related transactions to a crawl of minor league deals, transactions involving Korean Baseball Organization teams have taken more of a spotlight on MLBTR’s pages since the start of December.  These moves have included the signings of several names familiar to North American baseball fans, as the KBO League’s clubs have looked to address their allocated three roster spots for non-Korean players.  International-born players can only sign contracts worth a maximum of $1MM in total salary, and players new to the KBO League can sign only one-year pacts.

Though the Doosan Bears have one signing that still isn’t yet official, the other 29 slots have been filled.  It is still possible this list could be adjusted in the coming weeks due to a number of factors — injuries, players returning to North America (for personal reasons or a deal with an MLB team), issues related to the pandemic, or teams just changing their minds after seeing the players in training camp.  Here is the rundown of this winter’s international signings for the 10 KBO League franchises….

Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (deal not yet finalized), Ariel Miranda, Robert Stock

NC Dinos
Nick Martini, Wes Parsons, Drew Rucinski

Hanwha Eagles
Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham, Mike Tauchman

Lotte Giants
Charlie Barnes, DJ Peters, Glenn Sparkman

Kiwoom Heroes
Tyler Eppler, Eric Jokisch, Yasiel Puig

SSG Landers
Kevin Cron, Wilmer Font, Ivan Nova

Samsung Lions
David Buchanan, Jose Pirela, Albert Suarez

Kia Tigers
Socrates Brito, Sean Nolin, Ronnie Williams

LG Twins
Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Rio Ruiz

KT Wiz
William Cuevas, Odrisamer Despaigne, Henry Ramos

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Nick Martini

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DECEMBER 20: The Dinos officially announced Martini’s deal (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News). He’ll receive $550K in guaranteed money, with an additional $250K available in incentives.

DECEMBER 16: Outfielder Nick Martini is in discussions with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to a report from Naver Sports (h/t to Sung Min Kim). If a deal is finalized, the 31-year-old will make the jump to South Korea after spending the past eleven years in affiliated ball.

Martini has suited up in the majors in three of the last four seasons. The left-handed hitter broke in with an impressive .296/.397/.414 line across 179 plate appearances with the A’s in 2018. Martini didn’t get much of an opportunity to follow up on that strong rookie showing, though, struggling to a .226/.330/.323 mark in 109 trips to the dish between Oakland and the Padres the following season. He didn’t appear in the big leagues in 2020, although the Illinois native returned to play in 25 games with his hometown Cubs this past season. Chicago outrighted Martini off their 40-man roster at the end of the year, and he elected minor league free agency shortly thereafter.

While Martini doesn’t have a particularly lengthy track record in the majors, he owns a strong minor league resume. Over parts of six Triple-A seasons, he’s a .298/.399/.437 hitter. Martini has walked in a robust 13.4% of his plate appearances at the minors’ highest level while only punching out 17.8% of the time. He’s mostly limited to the corner outfield and doesn’t bring a ton of power to the table, but that combination of a keen eye and strong bat-to-ball skills should allow Martini to continue to post strong on-base marks if he makes the jump to the KBO.

Were Martini’s agreement to be finalized, that’d officially close the book on the possibility of Aaron Altherr returning to the Dinos. KBO teams are only permitted to carry three foreign players on their rosters, and the Dinos already employ pitchers Drew Rucinski and Wes Parsons. Altherr has spent the past two seasons with the Dinos, hitting .276/.354/.529 as the club’s regular center fielder. Naver reports that the team had interest in keeping the 30-year-old (31 next month) in the fold, but Altherr has explored the possibility of returning to MLB or making the jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball this offseason.

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