When the Cincinnati Reds made a big move for Jeimer Candelario this summer, we all squinted and stared at one another at Red Reporter HQ. Another infielder? What gives?!
The bottleneck there was clear. Matt McLain looked like a Rookie of the Year candidate for much of 2023, and Elly De La Cruz’s sparks on his finest days reminded grayheads everywhere of Eric Davis. Christian Encarnacion-Strand has hit a billion home runs in AA-AAA since the start of 2022 (and hit the ground running in his cup of coffee), Noelvi Marte hit better than all of those rookies last year, and Spencer Steer was the only one who was able to both a) play well and b) play well all season. Oh, and Jonathan India was never traded.
Another infielder?
We eventually learned that adding Candelario came hand in hand with Steer, who was already versatile, moving almost full-time to the outfield. Rather than sign an outfielder, sign another infielder and fabricate an outfielder from within to fill a need! That looked sweet, of course, until you factor in that TJ Friedl owns center and both Will Benson and Jake Fraley looked rock solid in the outfield in their time, too. Oh, and Jonathan India never got traded (and will apparently get some time in the outfield, too).
Another outfielder?
These are good problems to have, having too many good players. Better an India on the bench (with his career .732 OPS against LHP) than, say, Kevin Newman (and his career .732 OPS against LHP). Right?
We assume that these are the types of issues that will be resolved as the season progresses and regular play begins. Injuries, as we all know, occur early and frequently, as they did with the 2023 Reds. McLain was injured at the time, and he is still injured now. India was banged up back then, and the way they’re portraying his plantar fasciitis makes it sound like he’s even more messed up now. All of a sudden, we’re a month away from Opening Day, and the infield mix appears to be as uncertain as ever, despite the fact that the depth there should provide a decent set of possibilities.
It’s funny, then, to read about how the starting rotation and bullpen are both virtually completely unclear at this point.
According to The Enquirer’s twin reporters, manager David Bell stated today that the rotation ‘is absolutely not set,’ despite Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez signing as free agents in the offseason and Hunter Greene looking as healthy as ever. Andrew Abbott’s great rookie season? Not a sure spot! Graham Ashcraft and Nicholas Lodolo? It may not be healthy! Brandon Williamson is solid, albeit unspectacular, and continually ignored because he was not drafted and developed by the Reds. Probably getting overlooked!
The overlap between working through those alternatives and determining how the bullpen shakes out is evident, but how the bullpen shakes out has gotten even more obscure. Because almost everyone who was down there last year is returning, Martinez, Emilio Pagan, and Brent Suter have been added to the mix, and Ian Gibaut is out of options, it appears that several people who would otherwise be obvious candidates to break camp as members of the bullpen on Opening Day will be left out in the cold (read: Louisville).
