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Cincinnati Reds: Second base is a huge question mark entering 2020
by Drew Koch14 minutes ago Follow @DrewKoch714
Several times throughout the 2019 season, it looked as though the Cincinnati Reds had solidified their middle infield going into 2020. However, the recent struggles of several players is giving some fans cause to pause. Second base, specifically, may be the biggest question mark for the Reds front office as the offseason approaches.
Before the season began, it was a slam dunk that 2018 All-Star second baseman Scooter Gennett was going to add to his credentials. After back-to-back seasons of Gennett hitting over 20 home runs and racking up 90-plus RBIs, Reds Country was anxious to see if Scooter could make it three straight years.
Cincinnati Reds: Does Brian O’Grady have a spot on the 2020 roster?
After the Reds shuffled their lineup, José Peraza was selected to fill in for Gennett at second base. After all, Peraza had experience at the position, playing there before Gennett arrived and was coming off a 2018 season in which he led the Reds in hits.
Unfortunately, Peraza couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, and the 25-year-old from Venezuela was benched in favor of Derek Dietrich who was signed to a minor league contract during the offseason.
Dietrich was absolutely destroying the ball during the month of May and enjoying every minute of it. Dietrich slugged .841 that month and stared down 12 home runs as they left the yard. Double D looked like a lock to be re-signed this offseason.
But Dietrich struggled mightily after a red-hot May. Hitting just .150 during July, the left-handed slugger had more hit by pitches (6) than extra base hits (4) that month. Dietrich has been relegated to a bench role and has just seven starts in the last two months.
Josh VanMeter looked the part, didn’t he? The Cincinnati Reds rookie was promoted shortly after his best buddy Nick Senzel made his major league debut. After demolishing the baseball in Triple-A, the Reds were hoping that VanMeter could bring some pop to the lineup.
After his second shot at the big leagues, VanMeter went on a tear. During the month of July, VanMeter played 15 games and started 8 of them. He hit .417 with a 1.333 OPS, smacking four round trippers and racking up seven RBIs. But of late, VanMeter has crashed and burned.
The 24-year-old has just 24 hits in his last 117 at-bats which is good enough for a .205 batting average. VanMeter’s OPS is sitting at .744 after seeing it peak at .970 back in late July. VanMeter has seen more starts in the outfield of late, mainly due to Jesse Winker‘s injury.
Finally, the Cincinnati Reds thought they had the position straightened out once they claimed former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Freddy Galvis. With José Iglesias firmly entrenched as the Reds shortstop for the remainder of this season, Cincinnati decided to let Galvis play second base.
Like others before him, Galvis got off to a hot start in a Reds uniform. The 29-year-old slashed .292/.319/.508 in his first month with the club, but September has not been as kind. Galvis is 3-for-30 with zero home runs and eight strikeouts since the calendar flipped to September.
So, while every player who’s occupied second base during the 2019 season has shown flashes of brilliance, there’s also a lot of cause for concern. While the answer for who will play second base in 2020 may still be on the roster, I wouldn’t be upset if the Reds looked outside the organization as well.
Brian Dozier, Jonathan Schoop and Brock Holt will all be free agents this offseason, as will former Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett. While the bullpen has given away games of late, there’s no denying the offense is the Reds biggest issue heading into the offseason. Perhaps it’s time upgrade at second base?
https://blogredmachine.com/2019/09/11/cincinnati-reds-second-base-question-mark-2020/
by Drew Koch14 minutes ago Follow @DrewKoch714
Several times throughout the 2019 season, it looked as though the Cincinnati Reds had solidified their middle infield going into 2020. However, the recent struggles of several players is giving some fans cause to pause. Second base, specifically, may be the biggest question mark for the Reds front office as the offseason approaches.
Before the season began, it was a slam dunk that 2018 All-Star second baseman Scooter Gennett was going to add to his credentials. After back-to-back seasons of Gennett hitting over 20 home runs and racking up 90-plus RBIs, Reds Country was anxious to see if Scooter could make it three straight years.
Cincinnati Reds: Does Brian O’Grady have a spot on the 2020 roster?
After the Reds shuffled their lineup, José Peraza was selected to fill in for Gennett at second base. After all, Peraza had experience at the position, playing there before Gennett arrived and was coming off a 2018 season in which he led the Reds in hits.
Unfortunately, Peraza couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, and the 25-year-old from Venezuela was benched in favor of Derek Dietrich who was signed to a minor league contract during the offseason.
Dietrich was absolutely destroying the ball during the month of May and enjoying every minute of it. Dietrich slugged .841 that month and stared down 12 home runs as they left the yard. Double D looked like a lock to be re-signed this offseason.
But Dietrich struggled mightily after a red-hot May. Hitting just .150 during July, the left-handed slugger had more hit by pitches (6) than extra base hits (4) that month. Dietrich has been relegated to a bench role and has just seven starts in the last two months.
Josh VanMeter looked the part, didn’t he? The Cincinnati Reds rookie was promoted shortly after his best buddy Nick Senzel made his major league debut. After demolishing the baseball in Triple-A, the Reds were hoping that VanMeter could bring some pop to the lineup.
After his second shot at the big leagues, VanMeter went on a tear. During the month of July, VanMeter played 15 games and started 8 of them. He hit .417 with a 1.333 OPS, smacking four round trippers and racking up seven RBIs. But of late, VanMeter has crashed and burned.
The 24-year-old has just 24 hits in his last 117 at-bats which is good enough for a .205 batting average. VanMeter’s OPS is sitting at .744 after seeing it peak at .970 back in late July. VanMeter has seen more starts in the outfield of late, mainly due to Jesse Winker‘s injury.
Finally, the Cincinnati Reds thought they had the position straightened out once they claimed former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Freddy Galvis. With José Iglesias firmly entrenched as the Reds shortstop for the remainder of this season, Cincinnati decided to let Galvis play second base.
Like others before him, Galvis got off to a hot start in a Reds uniform. The 29-year-old slashed .292/.319/.508 in his first month with the club, but September has not been as kind. Galvis is 3-for-30 with zero home runs and eight strikeouts since the calendar flipped to September.
So, while every player who’s occupied second base during the 2019 season has shown flashes of brilliance, there’s also a lot of cause for concern. While the answer for who will play second base in 2020 may still be on the roster, I wouldn’t be upset if the Reds looked outside the organization as well.
Brian Dozier, Jonathan Schoop and Brock Holt will all be free agents this offseason, as will former Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett. While the bullpen has given away games of late, there’s no denying the offense is the Reds biggest issue heading into the offseason. Perhaps it’s time upgrade at second base?
https://blogredmachine.com/2019/09/11/cincinnati-reds-second-base-question-mark-2020/
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So, if I understand the headline correctly, the Red's will no long use What at second base, despite his having been a "major strength" and now they are considering moving Who over from first to play second?
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Fungo Squiggly
Mortal enemy of all things Bucky
Yahoo Pickem Champ
Former Game Champion
'18 BPCFFB II Champ
'18 Keeper League Champ
7 plate appearances, 0 at bats so far tonight.
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Nick Senzel Done For Season Due To Torn Right Labrum
By Mark Polishuk | September 12, 2019 at 7:44pm CDT
Nick Senzel’s season is over, as the Reds outfielder has suffered a torn right labrum, The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans reports (Twitter link). Senzel has missed four of Cincinnati’s last seven games due to the shoulder injury, and only took one plate appearances over the other three games.
Senzel will finish with a .256/.315/.427 slash line and 12 homers over 414 plate appearances, while also stealing 14 bases in 19 chances. With only an 89 OPS+ and wRC+, it wasn’t quite the big breakout the Reds and their fans were hoping for from one of the game’s top prospects, though it’s worth noting that a sprained ankle suffered late in Spring Training kept Senzel from taking the field until April 23, and delayed his Major League debut until May 3.
Perhaps most troublingly, the 24-year-old is already amassing a rather lengthy injury history just four years into his pro career. Senzel played just 44 total games (all at Triple-A) in 2018 due to a broken finger and a bout of vertigo, which also cost him time in 2017. The Reds were going to send Senzel to the Arizona Fall League for more seasoning, only to drop those plans when elbow surgery sidelined him for much of October and November of last year.
Through it all, Senzel also had to take on a brand-new position, as Cincinnati shifted him into center field duty. Since he’d never played center field prior to 2019, Senzel’s slightly below-average defensive metrics (-2.1 UZR/150 and -1 Defensive Run Saved) are actually more than respectable. It seems likely that the Reds will continue to use Senzel in center going forward, though now that Scooter Gennett is no longer in the picture, one wonders if the club would consider having Senzel split time between both second base and center field. Senzel’s original third base position, of course, is blocked by slugger Eugenio Suarez.
It isn’t known if Senzel will require shoulder surgery, though president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested Thursday that Senzel could be ready for Spring Training either way (link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).
Selected as the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, Senzel’s hitting ability has been highly regarded since his days at the University of Tennessee. Senzel hit .312/.388/.508 with 28 home runs over 1028 PA in the minors, including an .853 OPS over 231 PA at the Triple-A level.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019...m.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
By Mark Polishuk | September 12, 2019 at 7:44pm CDT
Nick Senzel’s season is over, as the Reds outfielder has suffered a torn right labrum, The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans reports (Twitter link). Senzel has missed four of Cincinnati’s last seven games due to the shoulder injury, and only took one plate appearances over the other three games.
Senzel will finish with a .256/.315/.427 slash line and 12 homers over 414 plate appearances, while also stealing 14 bases in 19 chances. With only an 89 OPS+ and wRC+, it wasn’t quite the big breakout the Reds and their fans were hoping for from one of the game’s top prospects, though it’s worth noting that a sprained ankle suffered late in Spring Training kept Senzel from taking the field until April 23, and delayed his Major League debut until May 3.
Perhaps most troublingly, the 24-year-old is already amassing a rather lengthy injury history just four years into his pro career. Senzel played just 44 total games (all at Triple-A) in 2018 due to a broken finger and a bout of vertigo, which also cost him time in 2017. The Reds were going to send Senzel to the Arizona Fall League for more seasoning, only to drop those plans when elbow surgery sidelined him for much of October and November of last year.
Through it all, Senzel also had to take on a brand-new position, as Cincinnati shifted him into center field duty. Since he’d never played center field prior to 2019, Senzel’s slightly below-average defensive metrics (-2.1 UZR/150 and -1 Defensive Run Saved) are actually more than respectable. It seems likely that the Reds will continue to use Senzel in center going forward, though now that Scooter Gennett is no longer in the picture, one wonders if the club would consider having Senzel split time between both second base and center field. Senzel’s original third base position, of course, is blocked by slugger Eugenio Suarez.
It isn’t known if Senzel will require shoulder surgery, though president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested Thursday that Senzel could be ready for Spring Training either way (link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).
Selected as the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, Senzel’s hitting ability has been highly regarded since his days at the University of Tennessee. Senzel hit .312/.388/.508 with 28 home runs over 1028 PA in the minors, including an .853 OPS over 231 PA at the Triple-A level.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019...m.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
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LovelandBuckeye
You never lose to those pricks. Ever. Ever. - UFM
That could damn near kill him.
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How special this offense has been at times and could be, but for the fucking garbage bullpen and management by Bell.
Jax, we could have actually had some positive talk about these shitbirds this year but of course, REDS
Jax, we could have actually had some positive talk about these shitbirds this year but of course, REDS
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