Joey Votto and the city of Cincinnati say ‘Thank you’ in a potential goodbye

As Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto tipped his cap, spun around and acknowledged the crowd on Sunday, he thought about how many familiar faces there were at Great American Ball Park.

Votto guessed that he had met the majority of the 31,191. Over his 17-year big league career, Votto has signed a lot of autographs. He has taken a lot of photos, met a lot of Reds fans around the city and thrown thousands of foul balls into the stands.

“I know so many people in the crowd,” Votto said. “I’m in this community in lots of different ways.”

Sunday’s 4-2 Reds win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the regular season home finale wasn’t a planned celebration for Votto. But since it might have been his final home game in Cincinnati, the day became a thank you from the crowd to a likely Hall of Famer./blockquote>

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: September 25, 2023 at 07:11 PM | 41 comment(s)
  Beats: joey votto, reds

Reds place Hunter Greene on injured list with COVID-19 as cases rise in the region

Reds pitcher Hunter Greene won’t be playing a game for a little while. He was placed on the injured list Thursday due to COVID-19.

The team made the announcement Friday morning on social media.

COVID-19 is trending upward in Southwest Ohio and Kentucky. New cases are the highest they’ve been since February, according to newly released data.

Five days after the Reds traveling party spent more than 8 hours on their charter plane on a tarmac in PHX they’re experiencing a COVID outbreak.

Lively and Cruz join Greene on COVID IL.

— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) September 1, 2023

Harrison Bader, Hunter Renfroe claimed off waivers by Reds (sources)

The Reds bolstered their outfield with two established veterans on Thursday when they claimed Harrison Bader off waivers from the Yankees and—as sources told MLB.com—Hunter Renfroe from the Angels. The Renfroe claim has not been confirmed by the teams, and the Reds have made no official announcement.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand latest prospect recalled by Reds

Hoping to spark a struggling offense, the slumping Cincinnati Reds promoted another top prospect on Monday and inserted Christian Encarnacion-Strand into the starting lineup against the San Francisco Giants for his major league debut.

The 23-year-old infielder flied out to right in his first at-bat, hitting seventh as the designated hitter, and grounded out in the fifth. He was among four rookies in the Reds’ starting lineup, joining third baseman Elly De La Cruz, shortstop Matt McLain and pitcher Brandon Williamson….

According to Major League Baseball, at 27 characters his name is the longest in big league history, five longer than that of Minnesota pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson. MLB included the hyphen in its count.

Elly De La Cruz’s cycle propels Reds to 12th straight win

Cincinnati rookie Elly De La Cruz became the youngest Major League Baseball player to hit for the cycle in 51 years as the Reds extended their win streak to 12 games with an 11-10 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

De La Cruz, 21, doubled to open the second inning, had a two-run homer in the third, a run-scoring single to center in the fifth and tripled in the sixth for his fourth RBI of the night. The last hit increased the Reds’ lead to 11-7.

He became the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Houston’s César Cedeño in 1972, according to ESPN Stats & Information. De La Cruz is also the third player since 1901 to hit for the cycle within his first 15 career games.

The cycle is the franchise’s seventh overall—fifth since 1900—and first since Eric Davis did it in 1989.

THE MOST EXCITING 10.83 SECONDS IN SPORTS ⚡⚡⚡@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/3lJjyhWRkc

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 24, 2023

Reds Designate Wil Myers For Assignment

The Reds announced today that first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers has been reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment.

Signed to a one-year, $7.5MM deal over the winter, Myers joined the Reds with the hope that he could rebound at the plate and develop into a serviceable trade chip at this year’s deadline. Things haven’t panned out as hoped, however. Prior to being placed on the injured list due to a bout with kidney stones, Myers appeared in 37 games and hit .189/.257/.283 with a jarring 34% strikeout rate in 141 trips to the plate. He managed to connect on three homers and added in a pair of steals, but Myers was nowhere close to his peak levels of performance.

Myers’ placement on the injured list was one of multiple injuries that paved the way for the Reds to go with a youth movement in the infield — one that has thus far reaped immense dividends. Spencer Steer, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz have all impressed this season, and 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India has enjoyed a fine rebound season at second base.

De La Cruz propels Reds to 10th straight win, longest streak since ‘12

Things are going so well for the Reds these days—and Elly De La Cruz has so much power—that the rookie can mishit a pitch and it still clears the fence.

“It’s like we’re floating in the wind. Of course, things like that are happening to us,” De La Cruz said via interpreter Jorge Merlos.

The club’s top prospect, De La Cruz had three hits. TJ Friedl had a career-high four hits. De La Cruz, Friedl and Will Benson all went deep in an 8-6 win over the Rockies at Great American Ball Park that extended first-place Cincinnati’s winning streak to 10 games. It’s the club’s longest streak since 2012, which is also the last time the Reds won the National League Central.

Reds call up top prospect Elly De La Cruz, put Nick Senzel on IL

Shortstop Elly De La Cruz, recently ranked as the No. 1 MLB prospect by ESPN, has been called up by the Cincinnati Reds, it was announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-5 De La Cruz was promoted from Triple-A Louisville and will join the Reds on Tuesday for the team’s series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He takes the roster spot of third baseman Nick Senzel, who was placed on the injured list with a right knee injury.

De La Cruz, with a tantalizing power-speed combination, was named baseball’s top prospect by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month.

The 21-year-old is hitting .296 with 12 home runs, 11 stolen bases, 36 RBIs and an OPS of 1.031 in 158 at-bats this season. He started the season on the injured list after suffering a left hamstring strain during spring training.

Elly De La Cruz is coming soon — and that may leave Jonathan India without a spot

The Reds have a problem with Jonathan India. It’s a good problem, but a problem nonetheless.

The Reds soon may boast too many good infielders, most notably the game’s top prospect, Elly De La Cruz, who is closing in on his major-league debut.

India, 26, was the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year. He’s currently the team’s three-hole hitter, putting together a season much more like his award-winning first year than his injury-riddled sophomore campaign. Beyond that, Reds players and officials consider him the heart and soul of the team.
But in a stunning turn that reflects the acceleration of the Reds’ rebuild and a shift toward perhaps their youngest and most athletic roster ever, India also is in danger of being displaced at second base.

“It’s part of the game. There are always guys behind you, always,” India said Saturday. “If I just play well, it won’t matter. That’s all I can do, play my best and make the decision tough for them.”

India is currently part of a double-play combination with promising rookie Matt McLain, who has started at shortstop in 12 of the past 13 games, including all three games of the Reds’ weekend sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

De La Cruz, meanwhile, is pushing for an immediate call-up. Recently named the top prospect in baseball by ESPN and listed in at least the top three everywhere else, De La Cruz is making a joke of the International League. The 6-foot-5 switch-hitter is already inspiring Paul Bunyan-level stories among even the most grizzled veteran players and scouts. Some Reds people who have seen him play call him a “switch-hitting (Fernando) Tatis (Jr.) with upside,” an intriguing notion, to say the least.

Reds extend Hunter Greene for 6 years, $53M

The Reds took the first step in locking up a big part of their core of young talent by reaching a long-term deal with starting pitcher Hunter Greene.

Greene and Cincinnati agreed to terms on a six-year, $53 million contract extension that includes a $21 million club option for 2029 (with a $2 million buyout). With performance escalators, the deal, which begins in ‘23, could max out at more than $95 million.

Thom Brennaman says he’ll broadcast ‘multiple’ games with his HOF dad on the radio this season

RETURN OF THE BRENNAMANSTER! (flee good people…flee!)

All the Reds trades to bolster the roster sure are nice, but here’s another reason for Reds fans to smile about the upcoming season:

Thom Brennaman promises that he’ll do some games on radio this year with his father, Marty Brennaman. They didn’t do any last year.

“Yes! Write it down in your notebook! We will do multiple games,” said Thom during a “Reds Hot Stove League” commercial break with his father Tuesday at the Holy Grail downtown.

The more he talked, the more he promised.

“I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to do three or four series together on radio,” Thom said.

Orlando Cabrera To Retire From Baseball

OH NO, EXPO!

Last season, Orlando Cabrera batted .238 with the Indians and Giants, posting a 61 OPS+. The season before that, he posted a 76 OPS+. The season before that, he posted an 85 OPS+. Orlando Cabrera has been declining, and just turned 37 years old. As a free agent, Cabrera didn’t drum up much interest, which I’m guessing is why he’s intending to hang ‘em up. Enrique Rojas:

  “Orlando Cabrera to retire from baseball, he said in Colombia radio station. Thanks for memories!”

Cabrera had a long career that’ll be difficult to forget. He debuted with the Expos in 1997, and remained there until the giant Nomar Garciaparra three-way trade in 2004. That year, with the Red Sox, Cabrera won a World Series. He wound up with the Angels, earning the unfortunate nickname “The Wizard of O.C.”, and then he wound up with the White Sox, and the A’s, and the Twins, and the Reds, and the Indians, and the Giants ... He remained a shortstop to the end, and collected 2,055 hits. He will always be remembered as a pest. An absolute pest.

Kevin Goldstein: Cincinnati Reds Top 11 Prospects

System In 20 Words Or Less: Considering the trades made for a 2012 run at the National Leaugue Central, there is still some strength in the system.

Five-Star Prospects
1. Billy Hamilton, SS
2. Devin Mesoraco, C
Three-Star Prospects
3. Zack Cozart, SS
4. Robert Stephenson, RHP
5. Daniel Corcino, RHP
6. J.C. Sulbaran, RHP
7. Didi Gregorius, SS
8. Todd Frazier, UT
9. Neftali Soto, 1B
10. Henry Rodriguez, 2B
Two-Star Prospects
11. Yorman Rodriguez, OF

Nine More:
12. Kyle Lotzkar, RHP: Can’t stay healthy, but continues to tease with some of the best stuff in the system.
13. Kyle Waldrop, OF: Athletic outfielder impressed Pioneer League scouts in 2011, has excellent chance to move up.
14. Donnie Joseph, LHP: Lefty reliever has bat-missing arsenal; could reach big leagues in 2012 with more strikes.
15. Gabriel Rosa, 3B: 2011 second-round pick is raw, but has the potential for plus power and defense.
16. Tony Cingrani, LHP: 2011 third-rounder has crazy number in pro debut, but projects for many as reliever.
17. Ryan LaMarre, OF: 2010 second-rounder has speed and contact ability, but leaves scouts underwhelmed with overall hitting.
18. Tucker Barnhart, C: Will get to the big leagues on defensive chops alone, but backup bat.
19. Juan Duran, OF: Finally began to untap the power in 2011, but is still uncoordinated after growing to six-foot-seven.
20. Ryan Wright, 2B: Overachiever with more skills than tools, but hard not to like.

Ryan Ludwick to join Reds

Puzzling strategy. With Ludwick, Chris Heisey, Drew Stubbs, and Jay Bruce, aren’t the Reds outfielders going to wilt in the hot sun due to their skin color?

Ryan Ludwick and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night because the deal was pending a physical and no announcement had been made by the team.

An All-Star in 2008 with St. Louis, the 33-year-old Ludwick was traded from San Diego to Pittsburgh at the July 31 deadline last season. He batted a combined .237 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs.

Ludwick could give the Reds the right-handed bat they’ve been seeking to complement lefty sluggers Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. He figures to see playing time in left field, a spot filled mostly by Chris Heisey down the stretch last season after Cincinnati traded Jonny Gomes to Washington in late July.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

MLB: Reds, closer Madson agree on one-year deal

The Reds agreed to terms late Tuesday on a one-year, $10 million contract with free-agent closer Ryan Madson, a baseball source confirmed to MLB.com.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and MLB Network had the initial report of a deal being reached. The Reds have not announced any agreement. A message was left with general manager Walt Jocketty.

Citing sources, Heyman reported earlier in the evening that talks between the two sides were heating up and in the serious stages. However, a source familiar with the situation downplayed the report to MLB.com, saying it was unlikely the Reds would get Madson unless his agent—Scott Boras—came well off the demand of a four-year, $44 million contract he had been reportedly been wanting.

And with this seeming to be a one-year deal for Madson, that certainly appears to be the case.

Talks had been ongoing all winter with former Reds closer Francisco Cordero, who became a free agent after his $12 million club option was not exercised. Cincinnati had a one-year contract offer at an unknown figure on the table but could never reach an agreement with Cordero.

Thanks to Chet.

Blasts from the Past

With the Hall of Fame results being announced today, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some old scouting reports from the Baseball America archives on some of the ballot’s notable candidates. . .

8. Barry Larkin, ss, 21, 5-11, 175, R-R
Larkin looked right at home in AA, hitting .267 for Vermont. He didn’t show power (one home run in 255 at-bats), but that will come. The key for him was just getting his feet on the ground, and he was not overpowered by the high level of competition (21 strikeouts in 255 at-bats). He will have good power for a shortstop.

6. Edgar Martinez, 3b, 25, 5-11, 175, R-R
Martinez’s discipline will produce runs. He’s averaged 70 RBIs the last four years. In the field, he’s solid, with good reactions and the soft hands of a middle infielder.

Murray Chass: NO TWO SIDES TO AN MLB.COM SELIG STORY and MORRIS UNLIKELY TO MAKE IT

Murray Sez… have a Bud and a Jack chaser

When I left The New York Times in 2008 after having written for the newspaper for 39 years, the first offer I received to continue writing came from a high-ranking Major League Baseball official who was in position to offer me a job as a columnist with MLB.com. My initial reaction was to say no, but some people urged me to reconsider and at least talk about and consider that possibility.

Accepting that offer would have turned out to be more economically lucrative than what I have done with this Web site the past three and a half years. But money isn’t everything. Writing for MLB.com just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

How could I have gone to work for the organization I had spent my professional life covering? Wouldn’t I be compromising my professional ethics by accepting a salary from people I would be in position to criticize and question if necessary? ...

To be sure, MLB.com serves a purpose, even for baseball writers, for whom it can serve as a 30-team research site in one location and a source of comprehensive statistics that are not mingled with WAR and VORP and all of those other metrics, as their advocates like to call them.

But then there are the self-congratulatory articles that can induce nausea. I guess we don’t have to read them, but they are there as propaganda for fans to see and be taken in by. Yes, baseball propaganda. I had never thought about it before this moment, but that’s what it is. ...

And maybe someday, perhaps when he retires, whenever that is, Selig will be big enough to allow an MLB.com columnist to write the truth about collusion and his role in the labor wars.

By the way, this column was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Based on e-mail I have received from critics of Morris and me, the Hall of Fame should take the vote away from baseball writers and simply establish statistical guidelines for players’ election. The players over the line make it, those under don’t.

Such a system would eliminate what is perhaps the greatest debate in sports, but that wouldn’t bother the stats zealots. Their numbers tell them who should be in the Hall of Fame, and the writers would be wrong if they disagreed.

That system would also eliminate the aspect of the voting that they hate most. Their opinion doesn’t mean beans. The writers’ opinion means everything.

MLB.com: Reds acquire Latos from Padres

There is a whole lot of talent changing hands here.

The Reds and Padres announced a five-player deal Saturday, as Cincinnati sent right-hander Edinson Volquez and three of its top 10 prospects to the Padres for right-hander Mat Latos.

Along with Volquez, the Padres acquired right-hander Brad Boxberger, infielder Yonder Alonso and catcher Yasmani Grandal. All were recently named among Cincinnati’s top 10 prospects by MLB.com (Alonso second, Grandal fifth and Boxberger sixth).

Dontrelle Willis joins Phillies, leaves admirers in Cincy

Whatchoo talkin about Willis?!?

After word of his move to Philadelphia got out Tuesday, Willis expressed his gratitude to the Reds via Twitter.

“I just want to say I owe the whole reds organization a great deal,’’ he wrote. “Great staff top to bottom and I wish those guys all the best.’‘

Willis actually pitched better than his record indicated with the Reds, at least initially. He had no wins but a 3.41 ERA through his first six starts and allowed more than three earned runs only once in his first 10 starts before posting an 8.27 ERA in September.

Reds Country: Pete Rose - Hits 4256, Steroids 0

I understand that amphetamine is tough to spell…but parlay is pretty damn easy.

I was checking out PeteRose.com and saw this autographed baseball.  Classic.

Bill Deane thinks former Barry Larkin will get 79 percent of the HOF vote

Hep up…former preeminent expert on Baseball Hall of Fame voting patterns, Chris Jaffe!

Bill Deane, the preeminent expert on Baseball Hall of Fame voting patterns, predicts that former Reds great Barry Larkin will be elected to Cooperstown in 2012 with 79 percent of the vote.

...The way Deane does his analysis is to look at how many votes are freed up by a previous year’s election – Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were elected in 2010 – and then estimating how that might impact the candidates in-waiting.

Deane predicts that last year’s second runner-up, Jack Morris, who received 53.5 percent of the vote, will get 66 percent percent this year.

...Here are Deane’s predictions on voting percentage for this year:

Larkin: 79 percent.
Jack Morris: 66 percent.
Jeff Bagwell: 51 percent.
Lee Smith: 15 percent.
Tim Raines: 47 percent.
Edgar Martinez: 40 percent.
Alan Trammell and Fred McGriff: 26 percent.
Larry Walker:25 percent.
Mark McGwire: 24 percent.
Don Mattingly: 21 percent.
Dale Murphy: 17 percent.
Rafael Palmeiro: 14 percent.
Bernie Williams: 8 percent.
Juan Gonzalez: 7 percent.

Erardi: Behind the numbers: Dan Driessen vs. Sean Casey

Only Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. losing an election could be worse than this! (end crazed Reds fan rant)

Driessen’s sin was in coming along when he did: As a third baseman in his early 20’s who wasn’t talented enough defensively to stick at third base, and yet was stuck behind Doggy at first base…and then when he got his chance to prove he had the stuff to help the Reds win a third straight World Championship in 1977, the starting pitching fell apart… and then when he should have been coming into a second prime at 30, the whole team fell apart and lost 101 games.

Overrated, under-achieving, undeserving ...that is how Reds fans largely (and erroneously) feel about Driessen.

And yet, if the numbers show anything, they show this:

If Sean Casey is a Reds Hall of Famer – and that’s what the fans voted – then so is Driessen.

Driessen outranks Casey 115 to 114 in OPS+.

Driessen outranks Casey 18.5 to 15.4 in WAR.

...And consider this: Except for the fact that Casey had a higher peak value than Driessen – i.e. Casey’s best years were better than Driessen’s best years – everything else about our recollection of Casey is fueled by memory, not reality.

Deep Thoughts (and Spelling Mistakes) with Pete Rose Autographs

Western Hells High School RULZ!

Not all the notes are perfect. Some show signs of Rose correcting himself by writing over a letter or two. Some remain with spelling mistakes in tact. One such error reads, “It’s a round ball & a round bat & you got to it it square.”

While some may wince at such autograph errors, others may find a bit of humor in them. As Rose would likely freely admit, nobody’s perfect. In most marathon card signing sessions, players and personalities are simply scribbling their names in such a way you might be able to make out a letter or two. Rose is going way beyond the scribble and actually adding a note.

2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy Rose-isms Inscription List:

-30 Yr Old Body, 15 Yr Old Brain = Ball Player
-I was born on the day Lincoln was shot and the Titanic sank.
-Dad taught me to practice and practice more.
-With the money I’m making, I should be playing 2 positions.
-Never bet on baseball.
-It’s a round ball & a round bat & you got to hit it square.
-See the ball, hit the ball.
-I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play.
-Winning 2/3s of the games usually wins a pennant.
-You win a hitting lesson with the hit king. (Note: Not part of regular print runs. Limited to one prize card.)

NYBD: Silva: Selig’s Final Act Should Be Reinstating Pete Rose

Some shouted “R. Budd Selig, don’t do this!”  He asked people to “please leave the chat room if this will offend you.”

If Bud Selig is true to his word and retires at the end of 2012, he should end his commissionership with the reinstatement of Pete Rose. It would be a fitting final chapter to a period where the game transformed for the better. It would also dispel the label that he’s a cowardly commissioner that rules by consensus and has yet to make a controversial decision, even if it were for the better. Remember, steroid testing was more a result of political pressure than Selig’s courage and vision.  Personally, I would gain a ton of respect for a man whom I believe has been in the right place at the right time in the games history. A lot of his success has been due to him standing on an oil field. Dealing with the Pete Rose issue might be his toughest and most controversial decision yet.

...The clock is ticking Bud. Is the new CBA going to be the cherry on top of your legacy? Not a bad encore, but you could do better. Do you want to go down as the guy that benefitted from the inevitable growth of the game? Is your stewardship only about committees and politics or are you ready to make a real decision? One that could potentially spark debate around the game like only steroids has in the past. Reinstate Pete Rose. Show us that you have at least one fastball in you after nearly 20 years of throwing us nothing but proverbial junk balls.