[ad_1]
As the Reds push for the playoffs, they struck a bittersweet deal on Monday. First up, the bitter: All-Star outfielder Jesse Winker was placed on the injured list with an intercostal strain. He recently missed three games before trying to eliminate him on Sunday. He finally had to be substituted after three innings.
Now the candy: Jose Barrero has been called in by the miners to take Winker’s place.
The Reds get into action on Monday just 2 1/2 games behind the Padres for the NL’s second wild card. They’ve won 13 of their last 19 games and have what seems like a loose schedule for the rest of the way, for the most part. Of their remaining 43 games, they face the Pirates nine times, the Marlins seven times, the Cubs six times, the Nationals four times and the Tigers three times. That’s 29 games against much lower competition.
Losing Winker hurts, of course, especially since we can’t figure out how long he will be away. The 27-year-old southpaw hits .307 / .395 / .560 (140 OPS +) with 24 home runs, 71 RBIs, 77 points and 32 best NL doubles.
Can Barrero mitigate the loss? He was forced into action last year with the Reds and was no good at all, but there were no minor leagues and he had never been above High-A. Now he has played 40 matches in Double-A, where he hit .300 / .367 / .481 and 40 in Triple-A (0.305 / .389 / .584). He did a home run in the Futures Game, in which case a source in the Reds’ organization told CBS Sports that they were really important to his MLB potential.
A few days later he had a long tear. In Barrero’s last 28 AAA games, as of July 15, he’s reached .354 / .430 / .681 with 10 doubles, nine homers, 24 RBIs and 24 runs.
It will be interesting to see how the Reds fare. They recently settled with Jonathan India in second, Kyle Farmer in short and Eugenio Suarez or Mike Moustakas in third. Barrero’s experience in the minor leagues is almost entirely shortstop, but he got work in the third. Farmer is a public service man, but his experience in the field is very limited. None of the others play off-screen.
In the outfield, Nick Castellanos holds on to the right with Tyler Naquin, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino filling the other two places. That is, even with Winker down, it doesn’t seem like the answer is to drag someone from infield to outfield is the plan.
Manager David Bell told reporters on Monday that Barrero will mostly come off the bench, playing second, third and short (via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). Barrero was not in Monday night’s lineup against the Cubs.
Either way, it’s a situation one to watch for the Reds chasing the playoffs.
[ad_2]
Source link