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The Reds have announced a large number of players who were reassigned to the minor league camp Friday, under the colors of the best hope Nick Senzel. Cincinnati's decision to do so elicited a reaction from Senzel's agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, who spoke harshly of the organization's decision against Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link).
"I do not think I have ever made public statements on this topic during my career," says Wolfe, "But I feel compelled to do it in this case where it looks like a simply flagrant case of service time manipulation. We are well aware of the ownership mandate granted to the Reds to win this year – and this seems to go against it. The NL Central was decided on a match last year. Every game counts. It's a short-sighted gesture that can be thrifty now but could cost them dearly later on. "
Unsurprisingly, Baseball Reds President Dick Williams told The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans that the decision was not related to the length of service (Twitter link).
The Reds decision in Senzel is, at the very least, more defensible than some recent service-oriented minor league assignments (for example, Kris Bryant, Eloy Jimenez, Ronald Acuna). Senzel learns a new position on the fly after being transferred from the infield to the center of the field. His injuries have limited him to 44 games last year, while preventing him from unfolding in the Arizona Autumn League.
That said, Senzel now hits .308 / .300 / .462 with six doubles and four bases stolen since the start of the season. He beat .310 / .378 / .509 at age 22 in his match. first exposure to the Triple-A pitch last season. There is an argument that Senzel's bat is ready for work in the big leagues, and the timing of his promotion to the big leagues will be an interesting situation to watch in the weeks to come. The Reds would only need to keep Senzel in the miners for just over two weeks to ensure an extra year of club control over the final pick of 2016, No. 2.
Regardless of whether the move is service-oriented, the Reds have the right to do so and are even wise to do so. The fact that they hope to be more competitive and compete for a playoff spot in 2019, as Wolfe suggests, is blurring the sea a bit, and the Reds will undoubtedly get their share of critics as they call it. Senzel at the beginning of the season. and miss the playoffs.
However, the current service time constraints were collectively negotiated a long time ago and were not addressed in the last round of negotiations between the league and the MLBPA, thus maintaining a clumsy and outdated system that undermines almost all parties, with the exception of the property. The best young players in the game are often held longer than necessary, which slows down their progression to substantial gains, while fans are deprived of the opportunity to see rising stars on the biggest stage of the game. Even the wickets are made to make slightly veiled and often transparent statements to their fans, knowing full well that they are preparing to face a violent reaction. It is an obsolete mechanism that deserves to be restructured and is likely to be a central element as the league and the union begin preliminary discussions well before the next lapse of the current ABC.
Cincinnati skipper David Bell announces right-hander at Reds Tyler Mahle will open the season as the team's fifth starter Alex Wood heals back spasms that have tormented him throughout the spring (Twitter link via Bobby Nightengale from Cincinnati Enquirer). Wood's injury should not be wasting time, so he is likely to line up only for a handful of starts before moving to a corrector role or returning to Triple-A to continue making departures. regular.
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