PHILADELPHIA – Nick Senzel is healthy after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in May, but the Cincinnati Reds plan to keep him at Triple-A Louisville for the foreseeable future.
Senzel, the Reds’ Opening Day center fielder, was activated from the 60-day injured list Sunday and optioned to Triple-A. It’s a surprise move, but general manager Nick Krall valued keeping depth on the 26-man roster over Senzel’s immediate return.
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“Right now, if we bring him to the club, who goes down?” Krall said. “There are only so many players that are optionable right now and I think that's the main factor. He had some flexibility. We felt the guys up here were playing well, so we want to keep this group together for right now and keep moving forward.”
The Reds are in a roster crunch where very few players could be optioned to Louisville. All their relievers are out of options. The Reds had a four-man bench Sunday featuring Shogo Akiyama, Eugenio Suárez, Tyler Stephenson and Aristides Aquino. If the Reds wanted to take a player without options off the roster, he would be subject to waivers.
Senzel played center field and shortstop throughout his 10-game rehab assignment. He had 10 hits in 35 at-bats (.286 batting average) with three doubles and one triple. He had two walks and two strikeouts.
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“He's fully healthy,” Krall said. “He's played the last two games and nearing the end of his rehab. Right now, we didn't have a spot that was good for him right here and he can go to Triple-A and continue to get at-bats on a regular basis. We'll have to see what happens moving forward.”
The Reds have Tyler Naquin, Akiyama and Aquino splitting time in center field. Mike Moustakas and Suárez are splitting time at third base.
“Tyler Naquin's played really well in that position," Krall said. "Then our infield's played well as well, so I wouldn't tell you (Senzel) would be starting, otherwise, he'd be here.”
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Another option for the Reds would have been losing a reliever from their nine-man bullpen to bring back Senzel and add flexibility among their position players.
“We have 20 games in a row, so having that extra reliever is important,” Krall said. “The guys we've had for the most part have been serviceable at this level. Having an extra reliever right now as we go through a 20-game stretch is really important for us, especially as guys get tired in August.”
The Reds are expected to activate reliever Tejay Antone from the injured list within the next week, which will force a roster move unless there is an injury. He was scheduled to pitch at least one inning Sunday. The next test for him will be pitching on back-to-back days.
“Can he come up here and do it for one game? Yeah,” Krall said. “It's the recovery. It's recovering after he throws. It's continuing to make sure he's physically healthy and physically ready to perform and recover at this level. When you get to the big leagues, you have to be able to be used to back-to-backs, three days in a row, you have to be full-go and that's what I think we're most worried about with him.”
Sending Senzel to Louisville shows the club’s lack of 40-man roster flexibility. Shortstop Jose Barrero looks big-league ready with a .313 batting average and .398 on-base percentage in 39 games at Louisville, but he’s likely staying there until potentially September when the roster expands from 26 to 28 players.
“Most important thing is to continue to get (Barrero) at-bats,” Krall said. “He's still getting comfortable there. He's doing really well there obviously. Whether he's ready to come here in September, we'll have those discussions over the next few weeks.”
Senzel was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. He had a .252 batting average and .323 on-base percentage in 36 games before he went on the injured list in May.
Krall said Senzel has “done a good job of improving at short,” but his best positions are second base, third base and center field.
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“I think he can be a contributor on this club when rosters expand or if there's an injury or something like that, he's going to be an option to be brought up,” Krall said. “We're going to have to make some tough decisions as we get to September. We have a handful of guys who are playing well, but you only get two extra roster spots this year as opposed to two years ago when you could bring up all 40.”
WINKER RETURNS, THEN LEAVES: Jesse Winker was back in the lineup Sunday after missing two games with a mild intercostal strain.
Winker underwent an MRI on Saturday and began feeling better throughout the day.
"When you’re swinging a bat, there’s a lot of torque that goes through that part of your body," Winker said. "Anytime you hear it’s mild and it’s not what you thought it could have been, it’s a good day. I was pumped about that."
Winker, however, played three innings Sunday. He exited after flying out to right field in his second at-bat, replaced by Aristides Aquino.
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