Nick Senzel

NL Injury Notes: Arenado, Matz, Senzel, Gott

By Anthony Franco | September 13, 2020 at 4:15pm CDT

Rounding up some injury news from around the National League:

Rockies’ star third baseman Nolan Arenado was held out of the lineup today with a left shoulder injury, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). Colorado is hoping he’ll avoid an injured list stint, says Groke. Arenado’s obviously of immense importance if the 21-24 Rockies are to erase a game and half deficit and get into the postseason.
The Mets activated lefty reliever Steven Matz from the injured list this afternoon. He’s been out about two weeks with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. It has been a disappointing season for Matz, who got bumped from the rotation after five poor starts before leaving his first relief appearance with the aforementioned injury.
Reds’ center fielder Nick Senzel has been on the injured list for undisclosed reasons since August 19. He’s nearing a return, manager David Bell told reporters, including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Indeed, it’s possible Senzel returns for tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Pirates. The 25-year-old is hitting .244/.327/.489 in 53 plate appearances this year.
The Giants are placing right-handed reliever Trevor Gott on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). It has been a nightmarish season for the 28-year-old. After seemingly breaking out in 2019, Gott has allowed 13 runs (all earned) in 11.2 innings with eight strikeouts and walks apiece.

Health Notes: Paxton, Rays, Phils, Reds, Cards

By Connor Byrne | September 10, 2020 at 8:07pm CDT

Yankees southpaw James Paxton will go the next couple days without throwing after feeling soreness following Wednesday’s session, manager Aaron Boone told WFAN (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). It’s unclear how much longer Paxton will be sidelined from the flexor strain that sent him to the IL on Aug. 21, but as Ackert notes, time is running out for him to return – at least to the Yankees’ rotation – during the regular season. Paxton’s problems, both in terms of injury and performance, are among the reasons the Yankees’ starting staff has disappointed this year. Although the 31-year-old dealt with his share of injuries in prior seasons, he typically fared well when healthy. In 2020, though, Paxton has stumbled to a 6.64 ERA over five starts and 20 1/3 innings.

Rays manager Kevin Cash hasn’t ruled out regular-season returns for third baseman Yandy Diaz or catcher Mike Zunino, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Diaz went to the IL on Sept. 1 with a right hamstring strain, while Zunino has been down since Aug. 29 with a strained oblique. Diaz has been a major on-base threat with a .307/.427/.386 line in 138 plate appearances, whereas Zunino has gone through a second straight horrible season on offense (.133/.235/.383 with 29 strikeouts in 68 PA).
The Phillies expect outfielder/designated hitter Jay Bruce to return this month, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Bruce has been on the IL twice with quad problems going back to August, and his most recent placement came Sept. 6. He was a good power source before then with a .225/.276/.578 line and six home runs in 76 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Philly’s hopeful that left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez will make it back if they earn a playoff spot. Alvarez threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball before taking a 105 mph line drive off the groin on Aug. 20.
Reds left-hander Wade Miley “took a step back today” in his recovery from shoulder troubles, manager David Bell announced (Twitter links via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). Consequently, the Reds don’t expect Miley back this weekend. He last took the mound Aug. 27. The news is better for outfielder Nick Senzel, who Bell said is “pretty close” to coming back. Senzel hasn’t played since Aug. 14, but the Reds haven’t disclosed a reason for his absence.
Cardinals righty Johan Oviedo is in COVID-19 quarantine, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Oviedo hasn’t tested positive for the illness, but he was exposed to someone who did. As a result, the Cardinals – whose season was halted for a couple weeks last month because of the virus – are taking a cautious approach. They placed Oviedo on the IL on Thursday. It seems righty Carlos Martinez will take over in the Cardinals’ rotation for Oviedo, a 22-year-old rookie who has put up a 4.66 ERA/4.26 FIP in his first four starts and 19 1/3 innings in the bigs.

Reds Place Nick Senzel On Injured List

By Steve Adams | August 19, 2020 at 12:59pm CDT

The Reds have placed center fielder Nick Senzel on the injured list and reinstated infielder Mike Moustakas from the 10-day IL, per a club announcement. An injury designation for Senzel was not provided. Cincinnati will also have infielder Robel Garcia on hand as the 29th man for today’s twin bill against the Royals.

There’s no firm indication that Senzel has tested positive for the coronavirus, but his vague IL placement comes after the club had its past three games postponed due to a positive test within the organization. Players can also be placed on the Covid-19 IL for exhibiting symptoms or coming into contact with someone who has since confirmed positive for the virus.

Moustakas has been out since Aug. 4 due to an injured left quadriceps and has played in just seven games this season, hitting .238/.333/.524 with a pair of homers in 24 plate appearances. He’s at designated hitter for the first game of today’s doubleheader but should eventually resume his duties as the club’s everyday second baseman. Senzel is hitting .244/.327/.489 with a pair of homers, five doubles and two steals in 14 games this year.

Both Moustakas and the 25-year-old Senzel missed time earlier this season after self-reporting symptoms of Covid-19 to the Reds. Each tested negative in the subsequent days, however. As MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon wrote last Friday, Senzel was withheld from the team’s victory line at the end of a win and exited the field with visible frustration. The Reds have not had a positive test since the decision to postpone Saturday’s game.

Injury Updates: Seager, Bummer, Senzel, Strop

By Mark Polishuk | August 8, 2020 at 9:14am CDT

The latest on four notable players who left last night’s action due to potential injuries…

Corey Seager left the field during the third inning of the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the Giants due to what the club described as lower back discomfort. As manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters, Seager will evaluated and likely won’t be in Saturday’s lineup. The shortstop suffered the injury the inning prior while diving for a ground-ball single off the bat of Chadwick Tromp, and was pulled an inning later after Seager was slow to cover second on the first out of the frame. Seager has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters early in the 2020 campaign, batting .340/.389/.600 with three homers.
White Sox left-hander Aaron Bummer left during the seventh inning of Chicago’s 2-0 win over Cleveland due to left biceps soreness. After tossing a pitch to Jose Ramirez, Bummer called the trainer to the mound and then departed the game. Bummer “just felt what he thought was a cramp in his biceps,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria told the Chicago Tribune’s LaMond Pope and other reporters. “Hopefully it’s no extended period of time but we are going to be careful with him.” Bummer’s departure came after 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, which dropped his ERA down to 1.23 through 7 1/3 frames of total work this season. The southpaw has quietly been a sturdy bullpen force since debuting in the 2017 season, which inspired the White Sox to sign Bummer to a five-year extension last February.
Both Nick Senzel and Pedro Strop left the Reds’ 8-3 victory over the Brewers with groin injuries. Senzel departed the game before re-taking his position in center field in the bottom of the fourth inning, while Strop left four pitches into an eighth inning at-bat against Brock Holt. Both players are day-to-day. Senzel already missed a few games this season for precautionary reasons (he tested negative for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms) and he has been plagued with injuries throughout his young career, so the Reds are surely hopeful he can avoid another trip to the injured list. Strop has a 3.86 ERA through 2 1/3 innings in a Cincinnati uniform, after the veteran right-hander signed a one-year contract with the Reds last winter.

Reds Activate Nick Senzel, Mike Moustakas

By Jeff Todd | July 29, 2020 at 2:02pm CDT

Reds outfielder Nick Senzel has been cleared to return to the active roster today, he announced on his Twitter account. Infielder Mike Moustakas was also given the green light to resume play, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic adds on Twitter.

This is obviously great news for the Cincinnati organization, which was missing two key pieces of its anticipated roster. As The Athletic reported earlier, they had appealed a league determination of a lengthier period of absence after the duo had reported some symptoms potentially consistent with COVID-19 over the weekend.

Thankfully, it seems as if there’s no reason to worry that either of the two players has come down with the coronavirus. Both players’ symptoms have since resolved and obviously neither has recorded a positive test.

The Reds have now announced the moves. The team has created a necessary active roster spot by optioning backstop Tyler Stephenson.

Reds Place Mike Moustakas On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | July 26, 2020 at 11:53am CDT

The Reds announced they have placed second baseman Mike Moustakas on the injured list. No reason was given for the placement, but Moustakas was scratched from the lineup this morning after waking up “not feeling well,” in the words of manager David Bell. MLB protocols permit a symptomatic player to be placed on the COVID-19 injured list even in the absence of a positive test. Notably, Reds’ DH Matt Davidson tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week.

Catching prospect Tyler Stephenson has been called up to replace Moustakas on the active roster. Additionally, outfielder Nick Senzel was scratched from today’s starting lineup without further explanation. Senzel remains on the active roster.

This would be a worrisome development for Moustakas and the Reds no matter what, but it’s especially troubling in conjunction with today’s reports that multiple Marlins players had tested positive for COVID-19. The paramount concern, of course, remains the health of the players affected. It’s important to note there’s no confirmation at this point Senzel is dealing with an illness at all.

From an on-field perspective, a lengthy absence from Moustakas would be a difficult blow to the Reds’ hopes of contention. They promised him $64MM over four years to install his power bat into the lineup. Josh VanMeter is getting the start at second base this afternoon.

Stephenson, meanwhile, is one of the game’s top catching prospects. The 23-year-old is in line to make his MLB debut after an impressive .285/.372/.410 showing in a pitcher-friendly Double-A environment last season.

NL Notes: Camp Delays, Dodgers, Cardinals, Gallegos, Health Updates, Senzel, Hamels

By TC Zencka | July 4, 2020 at 9:40am CDT

Expect delayed arrivals to camp to become somewhat of a recurring story early in training camp as players attempt to clear the many hurdles to return to play. The Dodgers, for instance, will be missing a few players at the start of camp, though manager Dave Roberts wasn’t able to name specific players, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Likewise, the Cardinals will be missing reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who is delayed in his return from Mexico, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Cardinals have not given a specific reason for his delay, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon. Rather than speculate on reasons for the holdup, let’s check in on some health updates from around the league…

Nick Senzel’s had a banged-up rookie season, appearing in 104 games with a .256/.315/.427 slash – but he’s ready to go for his sophomore campaign. His first season ended early when a torn labrum required Senzel to get shoulder surgery. That injury is fully recovered now, but only just now, as Senzel reported having throwing pain as recently as a month ago, per Bobby Nightengale of The Enquirer. Senzel may not have a steady defensive home when play begins, but he figures to be an everyday presence in the Reds’ lineup regardless, especially with the DH now in play.
Cole Hamels was never going to get a full Spring Training, not once a shoulder injury took him out of commission for a few months. The 36-year-old knows that the four-week leadup to the newly-rebooted 2020 season isn’t exactly the same, not at his age, but he plans to be ready to contribute, per Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Said Hamels: “It’s not as if I’m going to go out there expecting to pitch seven to nine innings. There’s going to be a gradual buildup process, and there’s going to be guys who will be able to piggyback on you, like in a high school or a college season. All that really matters is putting up zeroes. If you can put up two or put up five zeroes, that’s really helping the team, more so than (other pitchers) having to pick up and try to eat a lot of innings.”

Reds Expect Suarez, Senzel To Be “Full Go”

By Steve Adams | May 18, 2020 at 11:52am CDT

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez and center fielder Nick Senzel, both key figures in a bolstered Reds lineup, are expected to be “full go” whenever play is able to resume, president of baseball operations Dick Williams told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon this morning. Both players were recovering from shoulder surgery.

Suarez, 28, went under the knife in late January after injuring his shoulder while swimming during an offseason workout. There was some hope that he’d be ready for Opening Day, but that was a best-case and rather aggressive scenario. He didn’t appear in a Spring Training game, although Sheldon notes that he was on the cusp of getting some DH work in Cactus League play when Spring Training was shut down.

The 24-year-old Senzel underwent a much more serious procedure last September to repair a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder. He’d gotten into some spring games as a designated hitter as well but had yet to play in the field.

Given where both were in Spring Training, it’s not exactly a surprise that both are expected to be full strength when “spring” training relaunches — be it in mid-June under the current best-case scenario or a bit further down the road. Still, this is the first public update on the pair’s health provided by the Reds since late March, so the confirmation is of some note.

Both Suarez and Senzel will be prominent factors as the Reds look to snap a playoff drought that dates back to 2013, when they fell to the Pirates in the NL Wild Card game. Suarez took his game to a new level last year, clubbing a surprising 49 home runs — a figure that trailed only Pete Alonso for the NL lead. The slugger has five guaranteed seasons remaining (including 2020) on the seven-year, $66MM extension he inked two years ago, and the Reds control him for 2025 as well via a club option.

Senzel, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, ranked among baseball’s elite prospects from the time he was drafted until last year’s rookie season. He didn’t exactly take baseball by storm, hitting .256/.315/.427 through 414 plate appearances, but between the September shoulder surgery, a March ankle injury and an elbow procedure that caused him to miss the Arizona Fall League in 2018, Senzel dealt with a number ailments that might’ve weighed down his performance.

Drafted as an infielder, Senzel has worked all over the diamond but was moved to center field last spring. He fared well there, particularly considering his inexperience, and the Reds envision him lining up there more often than not, with the likes of Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama flanking him. Of course, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently noted, if the Reds are comfortable bouncing Senzel all over the diamond in a super-utility role, that versatility and the likely implementation of the DH in the National League could leave skipper David Bell with innumerable mix-and-match opportunities on a daily basis.

NL Notes: Senzel, D-backs, Rockies, Giants

By Connor Byrne | February 28, 2020 at 12:58am CDT

Reds outfielder Nick Senzel could begin appearing in spring training games next week, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Senzel has been working back from the shoulder surgery he underwent last September, and though the Reds believe he’s versatile enough to handle all three outfield positions, they’re only going to play him in center until he’s fully healed, according to manager David Bell. “I know he could do it but allowing him to focus on one spot may be more important than any of our other outfielders just because they all have so much more experience out there than he does,” Bell said of Senzel, a former infield prospect who spent his rookie season in center. The 24-year-old’s one of several outfielders for the Reds, who also count Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino among their options in the grass.

Red Sox, Padres Reportedly Still Negotiating Wil Myers Swap

By Jeff Todd | February 19, 2020 at 8:27am CDT

FEBRUARY 19: The Pads are indeed interested in both Lindor and Senzel, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports (subscription link). It’s even possible that the Myers talks with the Red Sox could morph into a three-team arrangement involving the Reds, Lin adds.

FEBRUARY 18: Spring Training is now upon us. Prior talks failed to result in a deal. And yet the Red Sox are still holding talks with the Padres about a potential deal that would send first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers to Boston, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Details are about as firm as you could ever hope to see them in a rumor of a potential swap. As before, the Friars want the Sox to take over about half of Myers’s salary (total guarantee of $61MM) over the next three years. Young talent would go to Boston to sweeten the pot. Players that have been discussed include Cal Quantrill, Luis Campusano, and Gabriel Arias, though it’s not clear which would be included and the Sox wouldn’t be able to obtain all of them just to take on half of what’s owed Myers.

That leaves out one major component of the as-yet-uncompleted trade talks: what would come back from the Red Sox? The original chatter between these teams involved Mookie Betts, who is no longer in the Boston stable. There’s no real indication just yet as to what current Red Sox might pique the interest of Padres GM A.J. Preller.

Yet more intriguing? The real goal, per Acee, is to swing a blockbuster for a high-level talent. He notes Nick Senzel of the Reds and Francisco Lindor of the Indians as longstanding targets, but it’s not really clear whether either is realistically available at this point. There aren’t many other conceivable candidates to be acquired who’d meet the description of a “difference-making” performer.

It’s fair to hold some skepticism here, especially as to the possible second prong of this scenario. Then again, Preller once pulled off a trade for Craig Kimbrel just before the start of a season, so it’s tough to rule out any mid-spring fireworks.

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