Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings March 24, 2017

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1 Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings March 24, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY The Reds play an exhibition game against the Dodgers in Havana, Cuba MLB.COM Arroyo makes strong case for rotation By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com March 23rd, COMMENTS GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Bronson Arroyo, the 40-year-old right-hander in a crowded mix fighting for a rotation spot with the Reds, continued to make his case in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the White Sox. If he finishes camp healthy, the non-roster invitee, who hasn't pitched in the Majors the last two seasons, is expected to be among the five starters solidified to start the season. "He looked like regular Bronson," manager Bryan Price said. "It's hard to tell, to think, this is a guy that's missed so much time with elbow and shoulder surgeries. It just looked like we have Bronson Arroyo back again. That warms my heart, to be terribly honest. It makes me feel a lot better about the potential for him to be back in the big leagues this year." Arroyo is admittedly playing with caution this late in camp, and said he pitched inside all afternoon with the exception of one curveball to Todd Frazier in a fourth-inning at-bat that drew a strikeout, one of two he notched Thursday. The right-hander was pegged in the jaw in his last outing Saturday by a throw from catcher Devin Mesoraco. "If you watch a tape of a game, basically every ball that comes back and drills a pitcher with good velocity is going to be usually something stiff away," Arroyo said, "I'm not on a guaranteed deal either. If I got hit in one of these last two starts, break a couple fingers, it probably ends my career." With limited velocity, Arroyo induced consistent soft contact -- a two-run homer in the fourth inning to Nicky Delmonico notwithstanding. Arroyo gave up the deep fly as his pitch count approached 60, and one batter before his scheduled departure. He was aided by defense most of the afternoon, but expectedly, as Arroyo has never been a high-strikeout pitcher over his 15-year career. Only twice has he averaged more than seven strikeouts per nine innings, most recently in "That's his game," Price said. "I think the thing that I've realized over the years is that he doesn't pitch for the strikeout until he needs a strikeout, so he can pitch games like this, where his outs come relatively quickly. "The rest of the time, I think he was perfectly satisfied with balls in play on the ground or soft fly balls, and he got a lot of those. But when he needed a strikeout, he went after it, and was able to get it in that situation. That tells me that he's a lot closer to being the Bronson that we know than the Bronson that's been injured for the last two and a half years." The Reds hope Arroyo, who played for Cincinnati from but has been marred by injuries since, can be a reliable innings eater. Price admires his veteran presence, particularly with Homer Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani out with injuries, but would like to continue to see long-term durability. Only Scott Feldman and Brandon Finnegan have been vested to the rotation, with Arroyo and six others -- Tim Adleman, Rookie Davis, Sal Romano, Amir Garrett, Cody Reed, Robert Stephenson -- competing for the remaining three slots. Arroyo sharp in start; Amaral hits key double By Scott Merkin / March 23rd, COMMENTS GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jose Quintana appears to be regular-season ready. With 17 scouts in attendance, the White Sox ace and prime trade candidate as part of the team's rebuilding, pitched 5 2/3 perfect innings during a 4-2 victory over the Reds on Thursday at Camelback Ranch.

2 Beau Amaral delivered a double down the right-field line to break up the perfect game, and Amaral wasn't even in the Reds' original starting lineup. He got the nod when Desmond Jennings was scratched. Quintana struck out three and allowed two hits in seven innings, throwing 53 of his 79 pitches for strikes and adding another 15 pitches in the bullpen after his start. "I feel good," Quintana said. "I attacked the zone early. [Catcher Kevan Smith] called a really good game, and I'm happy with that. When you're ahead every batter, it's good. I was getting some quick outs early, and I went long." Sox in no hurry to trade Quintana Arroyo makes strong case for rotation Nicky Delmonico drilled a two-run blast in the fourth to give the White Sox an early lead. The blast came after Melky Cabrera opened the frame with a double, but was still at third with two outs. Delmonico has three homers and eight RBIs in Cactus League action, as he added a run-scoring double to right in the sixth inning, bringing home Todd Frazier. That home run came off of Bronson Arroyo, who allowed the two runs on four hits in four innings, while striking out two and walking one. The non-roster invitee Arroyo is competing for a rotation spot in a crowded mix with six others. But Arroyo's effort was overshadowed by Quintana's performance. Avisail Garcia was ejected in the eighth inning for disputing a called third strike. It was the White Sox second ejection of the Cactus League. Reds Up Next: Sal Romano, vying for one of the three open rotation spots, will make his second spring start and sixth outing overall at Goodyear Ballpark against the Brewers at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday. A 23rd-round pick from 2011, Romano has yet to crack the Majors, and he is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in Cactus League play. Billy Hamilton, who returned from Achilles inflammation as the designated hitter Thursday, is expected to have the day off. White Sox Up Next: Carlos Rodon makes his second Cactus League start when the White Sox travel to Mesa to take on the A's on Friday. The first pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. CT and will be on MLB.TV. Although Rodon is lined up to pitch in one of the season's first two games, manager Rick Renteria still plans on using Rodon at the back end of the rotation at least at the outset. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Scott Merkin has covered the White Sox for MLB.com since Read his blog, Merk's Works, follow him on on Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Iglesias injured back, elbow slipping in shower By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com March 23rd, COMMENTS GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The back injury and bone bruise in his right elbow that has kept Raisel Iglesias sidelined stemmed from a slip in the shower three weeks ago at his home, the right-handed reliever said Thursday. "I was taking a shower there, and I just like, did a bad move, and tried to hold with my left [arm] but I couldn't get it underneath [the handlebar] with my right. The opposite, you know," Iglesias said through an interpreter. "I couldn't have done anything." Iglesias, who said he landed on his right elbow and hip, received an anti-inflammatory shot in his back and elbow from the training staff earlier this week. He said he's already feeling better. He hasn't pitched since March 14, and was held out of a Minor League game Saturday. He will resume throwing Sunday, and shouldn't be at risk to aggravate the injury, manager Bryan Price said. Iglesias pitched through the injury for nearly two weeks before approaching trainers, hoping the pain would subside. He underwent an MRI earlier this week, which revealed no structural damage. But given how rapidly Opening Day is approaching, April 3 at home against the Phillies, Iglesias' status of being ready by the opener remains in question. "I was just like, 'Oh, I'm going to say something, because it's kind of bothering me,"' Iglesias said. "But I'm going to be OK. I'm probably going to throw one bullpen, and after that, mentally and physically, I'm going to be ready to [start] the season and compete."

3 Iglesias is one of four Reds -- Michael Lorenzen, Drew Storen and Tony Cingrani -- who will comprise a closer committee this season. Price has said each will contribute in late, high leverage situations. Iglesias recorded six saves last year, and finished with a team-best 2.53 ERA in 78 1/3 innings. Three in that quartet have been a primary starter at one point in their career, Storen notwithstanding. Iglesias began his career as a starter, and went 3-7 with a 4.00 ERA in 16 starts in 2015, a year after signing with the Reds after defecting from Cuba. "The competition has been great, and it's really good for the team to have those kind of guys that are just going to go out there and compete," Iglesias said. Hamilton returns from Achilles inflammation By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com March 23rd, COMMENTS GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Billy Hamilton, who had been sidelined since Saturday due to Achilles inflammation, returned as the designated hitter in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the White Sox. Hamilton went 0-for-3, and was one of the many victims of a lights-out Jose Quintana, who carried a perfect game into the sixth inning. Hamilton, who missed four spring games, likely would have played if those games were in the regular season, manager Bryan Price said earlier this week. Hamilton is scheduled for a workout day Friday and will resume center field during a split series this weekend against the Cubs in Las Vegas. "Just fine, really good, I think a step in the right direction," Price said of Hamilton's health postgame. "He took three at-bats, really hit the ball well on his last at-bat. Tomorrow, he'll just come in, and he'll go to Vegas and play center field." Jennings scratched with hip injury In a last-minute lineup change, Desmond Jennings was scratched from his starting spot in center field with a minor hip injury, Price said. "It was just something that I knew he felt like it wasn't a good idea," Price said. "If he's willing to come and talk to the manager needing a day off, I absolutely am going to give him a day off." Jennings will be evaluated and could return to action as soon as Friday's matinee against the Brewers at Goodyear Ballpark. More likely, however, he'll play in Saturday's split series. "I'd much rather make sure he plays through the finish line healthy as opposed to kind of gimping his way in and evaluating him at 80 percent or 70 percent," Price said. Price pondered Votto batting leadoff in 2016 By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com March 23rd, COMMENT GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In the context of facing the Cubs last Thursday and witnessing their innovative approach in leading off Kyle Schwarber, Reds manager Bryan Price admitted he pondered the prospect of Joey Votto in the one hole last year. To be sure, Price is committed to batting Votto third for the better part of 2017, but in seeing Schwarber and the Indians' success with Danny Santana leading off, Price said he loosely considered moving Votto from third to first in the lineup. "The more that I saw Santana doing it last year, it gave me pause to think about it," Price said. "But no, I just think the value is where [Votto] is." Price has played with lineup shuffles involving Votto before. In a six-week stretch last year from May to July, Price batted Votto second in hopes of stimulating a stymied Reds offense that, at the time, ranked fourth-worst in MLB with an average 73 wrc+, which measures how players compare with league average, set at 100, after accounting ballpark effects.

4 Votto moved back to his standard three-hole just before the All-Star break, and in the second half, in which he hit third in each of his 71 starts, ranked among the NL leaders in batting average (first,.407) on-base percentage (first,.490), slugging (tied first,.655), and RBIs (tied fourth, 52) -- remarkable numbers, and fitting as a club's primary run producer. "Now with the cast that we have here, hopefully, we have the guys that can set the table, and provide Joey and the guys behind him with some opportunities to drive in some runs, instead of him having the onus of scoring them," Price said. Price said Thursday he envisions the everyday lineup in '17 consisting of, one through four: Billy Hamilton, Jose Peraza, Votto and Adam Duvall. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Arroyo s arm passes four-inning test Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com Published 6:44 p.m. ET March 23, 2017 Updated 14 hours ago GLENDALE, Ariz. Bronson Arroyo felt something in his forearm in the fourth inning of his Cactus League start on Thursday. It wasn t pain not like the sensations that have led to shoulder and elbow surgeries for him the last few years but fatigue. For the first time in years, his arm was getting in shape for a full season. After pitching four innings and about 60 pitches against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch, the 40-year-old right-hander is more confident than ever about his body s ability to hold up to the rigors of pitching in a major-league rotation. Today proved to me that my body s going to be perfectly fine to handle whatever we throw at it, Arroyo said. It s just a matter now of getting in shape. I m feeling no discomfort, tightness or anything in my shoulder or elbow. It s just all forearm working its butt off to get the ball over the plate. Arroyo allowed four hits and two runs in his four innings, walking one and striking out two. All three hits went for extra-bases including a Nicky Delmonico homer to center in the fourth but two of them were softly-hit bloop doubles. He managed to be effective despite his fastball sitting between mph, according to a scout in attendance. He also limited himself by throwing only inside to every hitter. That resulted in a lot of jammed pop-ups and grounders, and also kept Arroyo clear of any screaming comebackers. Arroyo s watched fellow Reds righty Tim Adleman takes batted balls off various body parts in three straight outings, and had a scare in spring training in 2013 when he took a line drive off the hand. I m not on a guaranteed deal, either, Arroyo said. If I got hit in one of these last two starts and break a couple fingers, it probably ends my career. Arroyo was willing to throw caution to the win on one play, however. With one out in the third and the speedy Peter Bourjos on second base, Reds catcher Rob Brantly delivered a stiff throw back to the mound that glanced off Arroyo s glove and settled in the grass midway between the mound and shortstop Jose Peraza. Borjous took off for third, but Arroyo chased down the ball, dove forward and flicked it to third baseman Tony Renda, who made the tag for the out. I m 40, but I still got it, he said. Game Report: White Sox 4, Reds 2 Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com 7:38 p.m. ET March 23, 2017 GLENDALE, Ariz. The Cincinnati Reds mounted a late rally, but ultimately fell 4-2 to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday at Camelback Ranch. The Reds trailed 3-0 entering the top of the eighth, but got something going against Chicago RHP Zack Burdi, who loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a single. CF Taylor Trammell, who playing high school baseball a year ago, scored two with a long single over the head of LF Nicky Delmonico and to the wall. LHP Brian Clark replaced Burdi and got the final two outs of the inning.

5 THE ARMS RHP Bronson Arroyo pitched a quick four innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out two. Both runs scored when he was tiring in the fourth, on a two-run homer to center by Delmonico. It warms my heart, manager Bryan Price said. To be terribly honest with you, it makes me feel a lot better about the potential of him being back in the big leagues this year. RHP Barrett Astin relieved Arroyo with a scoreless inning, and RHP Blake Wood gave up a run on two hits in two-thirds of a frame. LHPs Lucas Luetge and Tony Cingrani combined for 1 ⅓ perfect innings, but LHP Wandy Peralta allowed three hits and a run in one frame. THE BATS White Sox LHP Jose Quintana kept the Reds hitless through the first 5 ⅔ innings, the no-hitter bid broken by CF Beau Amaral s double to right field. SS Jose Peraza collected the other hit off Quintana in the seventh, although promptly was caught in a rundown after taking off too early for second. 3B Hernan Iribarren went 1 for 1 with a walk. THE REST CF Desmond Jennings was scratched from the lineup with a hip issue, Price said. The Reds might rest him Friday as well, in the hopes that Jennings can play both days this weekend when the team is split-squadded between Arizona and Las Vegas. Amaral took the veteran s slot in the lineup. LHP Brandon Finnegan pitched in a minor-league game against the Cleveland Indians, throwing 95 pitches in 5 ⅔ innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits, with three walks and six strikeouts. UP NEXT The Reds will host the Milwaukee Brewers at Goodyear Ballpark on Friday, with RHP Sal Romano starting the game for Cincinnati. Romano has a 1.17 ERA in spring so far. He ll be followed by RHPs Michael Lorenzen, Drew Storen and Louis Coleman. LHP Tommy Milone will take the ball for the Brewers. The audio broadcast of the game will be carried on Reds.com beginning at 4:05 p.m. Eastern. Likely Billy Hamilton, jose Peraza, Joey Votto hitting Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com Published 2:57 p.m. ET March 23, 2017 Updated 17 hours ago GOODYEAR, Ariz. Throughout the course of last year, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price kept an eye on what was happening with the Cleveland Indians at the opposite end of the state of Ohio. Sure, Indians manager Terry Francona was getting creative with his bullpen, but he was also getting creative with his lineup. Starting 85 games in the leadoff spot was slugger Carlos Santana, a guy not known for his speed on the bases or athleticism. But he did get on base, posting a.385 on-base percentage hitting atop the order in It got Price thinking. Should Reds on-base machine Joey Votto bat first? The more that I saw Santana doing it last year, it gave me pause to think about it, Price said. But no, I think the value is where (Votto) is. Votto may not be hitting leadoff in 2017, but Price more or less has his top three spots settled. Billy Hamilton will hit first, followed by Jose Peraza. Votto will slot in at third, like he has most of his career. It s not the perfect configuration, but it s one Price is content to start the season with. The Hamilton-Peraza combo gives the Reds a speedy duo atop the order and the potential to create havoc on the base paths. But hitting with two base-stealing threats on base can make things more difficult for Votto, and in a perfect world Price would also like to give Hamilton more room to operate than with a bat-to-ball player like Peraza hitting behind him. Both Peraza and the other two-hole candidate, Zack Cozart, are high-contact, low-walk hitters. It s hard for Hamilton to steal a bag when balls don t make it to the catcher s mitt.

6 Hitting second behind Billy kind of requires that you give him an opportunity to run a little bit, Price said. There does need to be some patience in that two-spot when Billy s on base. Both Zack and Jose, they re free-swingers. They get a good pitch to hit on that first pitch and they don t like to wait around. It ll be a work in progress. Hanson to have elbow surgery Right-hander Nick Hanson, the Reds third-round pick in the 2016 draft, will require reconstructive elbow, or Tommy John, surgery, according to a source. The injury was first reported by Eric Roseberry of RedReporter.com. Hanson, 18, was taken out of a Minnesota high school in last year s draft. He started eight innings-controlled games at the rookieleague level after signing, posting a 9.18 ERA in 16 ⅔ innings. Raisel Iglesias hurt elbow, hips falling in shower Cincinnati 2:30 p.m. ET March 23, 2017 GOODYEAR, Ariz. Plenty of pitchers hurt their elbows in the unnatural act of throwing a baseball. Cincinnati Reds right-hander Raisel Iglesias hurt his doing a much more routine task. He was showering at home, and he slipped. The incident, which happened three weeks ago, led to a bone bruise in his right elbow and soreness in both hips. He spoke up about it last week, and has had anti-inflammatory shots to both areas. He won t throw again for several more days. It happens, Iglesias said through interpreter Julio Morillo. I was taking a shower and did a bad move and tried hold with my left, but I couldn t get anything with my right on the opposite. I couldn t get anything. It happens. It s a small shower there. Reds manager Bryan Price said the injuries could prevent Iglesisas from being ready by Opening Day, but the Cuban righty has a much rosier outlook for himself. I m going to be OK, he said. I m probably going to throw one bullpen, and after that, mentally and physically, I ll be ready to join the season and compete. TRANSACTIONS 03/23/17 2B Chris Mariscal assigned to Seattle Mariners. C Keibert Ruiz assigned to Los Angeles Dodgers. Seattle Mariners optioned 1B Daniel Vogelbach to Tacoma Rainiers. Miami Marlins optioned 3B Brian Anderson to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Miami Marlins optioned OF Moises Sierra to New Orleans Baby Cakes. Miami Marlins optioned CF Isaac Galloway to New Orleans Baby Cakes. Miami Marlins optioned 3B Matt Juengel to New Orleans Baby Cakes. CF Leon Landry assigned to Cincinnati Reds. RHP Colin Welmon assigned to Colorado Rockies. SS Luis Jean assigned to Colorado Rockies. C Troy Stein assigned to Colorado Rockies. RF Drew Weeks assigned to Colorado Rockies. SS Jose Gomez assigned to Colorado Rockies. 2B Michael Benjamin assigned to Colorado Rockies. LF Eric Toole assigned to Colorado Rockies. CF Pedro Gonzalez assigned to Colorado Rockies. RHP Gerardo Reyes assigned to San Diego Padres. RHP Tyler Barnette assigned to San Diego Padres. C Miguel Del Castillo assigned to San Diego Padres. LF Jose Carlos Urena assigned to San Diego Padres. RHP Cameron Gann assigned to Arizona Diamondbacks. RHP Chris Jensen assigned to Oakland Athletics. 2B Mikey White assigned to Oakland Athletics. C Jarrett Costa assigned to Oakland Athletics. 3B Edwin Diaz assigned to Oakland Athletics. 2B Jorma Rodriguez assigned to Cleveland Indians. Chicago Cubs optioned RHP Jake Buchanan to Iowa Cubs. Chicago Cubs optioned RHP Alec Mills to Iowa Cubs. Chicago Cubs optioned 3B Jeimer Candelario to Iowa Cubs.

7 SS Jordan Serena assigned to Los Angeles Angels. Colorado Rockies optioned RHP Jeff Hoffman to Albuquerque Isotopes. 2B Billy Fleming assigned to New York Yankees. RHP Tim Ingram assigned to Tampa Bay Rays. CF Bruce Caldwell assigned to St. Louis Cardinals. RF Mel Rojas Jr. assigned to Atlanta Braves. RHP Confesor Lara assigned to Minnesota Twins. RHP Nick Burdi assigned to Minnesota Twins. RHP Henry Centeno assigned to Minnesota Twins. 1B Trey Vavra assigned to Minnesota Twins. Miami Marlins optioned Destin Hood to New Orleans Baby Cakes. Miami Marlins optioned Severino Gonzalez to New Orleans Baby Cakes. RHP Buddy Borden assigned to Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh Pirates optioned Max Moroff to Indianapolis Indians. Pittsburgh Pirates optioned Elias Diaz to Indianapolis Indians.