Cincinnati Reds

When baseball returns after its current delay, it will still take time for players to get ready for regular-season action. 

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer explained that a "three-to-four week range would be absolute minimum in my mind" to get into playing shape, per Chris Bumbaca of USA Today.

"It's tough to say because no one's ever gone through this before. None of the current players, for sure," Bauer said. "Again, I can speak for myself personally. I generally feel that I need three to four weeks to ramp up."

MLB canceled the rest of spring training and delayed the regular season at least two weeks amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Per CNN, there are 1,678 confirmed cases in the United States as of Monday, with 41 deaths. Over 6,000 people have been killed by the disease worldwide.

While the league is currently scheduled to return on April 9, COVID-19 has continued to spread and may cause further delays.

Multiple executives expect the 2020 MLB season to be delayed until at least Memorial Day in late May, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Considering the need for players to prepare physically, the season could be pushed back even further in order to replicate another spring training.

This would likely make it impossible to play a full 162-game season in 2020, which could then affect future contracts for players who didn't have the same numbers as usual. Bauer noted how the business of baseball will be impacted:

"There's a lot of questions. I don't know how they're going to shake out. They have to be discussed because they're large parts of our industry, and there's a lot of people, not only this year and current players, but people in the next five to 10 years in the arbitration system and the free agency system when we're talking about comparable players and whatnot that are going to be affected."

It's all part of what the league must consider before adjusting its plans.

With Major League Baseball on hiatus because of concerns about the coronavirus, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer organized a "sandlot" game in Arizona. 

Bauer tweeted an invite to his fellow MLB players, as well as any minor leaguers, who want to be part of the event and said it will be live-streamed through his social media channels:

Confirmed, this is happening. All content and live streams from this event will be distributed through @Watch_Momentum and my personal channels (@Twitter, @instagram, @Facebook, and @YouTube) No further announcements will be made so follow now or risk missing it entirely. 💪🏻💪🏻 https://t.co/SLDldANomC

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 14, 2020

One added wrinkle to the game was that all players must wear microphones. The ability to hear players talk during games has been adopted by MLB during select spring training games broadcast on ESPN. 

"I'm doing some math in my head about where he is going to throw. ... Someone bang for me."

—@ARizzo44 went there pic.twitter.com/m4GOqb8NxL

— ESPN (@espn) March 2, 2020

Here's a little friendly banter between @KrisBryant_23 & @ARizzo44 to brighten your Monday. pic.twitter.com/3wGE0vpFh1

— Cut4 (@Cut4) March 2, 2020

On Thursday, MLB announced the cancellation of its spring training schedule and delayed the start of the regular season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

MLB is allowing players to travel home after canceling spring training, but they also have the option of remaining at their team's spring training complex to continue training and working out if/when the regular season begins. 

Half of MLB's 30 teams hold spring training in Arizona, so there are no shortage of available options to play in the sandlot game if they choose to do so. 

Trevor Bauer is not taking himself too seriously in spring training.  

The Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher told reporters Wednesday that he decided to tip his pitches to Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Matt Beaty during their Monday matchup because of "an inside joke that I can't tell you guys, but just having fun, joking around."

Bauer used his glove to relay to Beaty at the plate, and Reds utility man Derek Dietrich explained his teammate's mindset during the game's broadcast: 

"He's gonna start telling batters what's coming. ... It's just here it comes, try to hit it."

Trevor Bauer was indicating to Dodgers' batters what pitch he was throwing. pic.twitter.com/WyXULCCe98

— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2020

Beaty, who had hit a solo home run off Sonny Gray in the second inning, flied out to center to lead off the fourth despite Bauer giving him an advantage. The Reds won 6-2. 

Bauer wanted credit where credit was due:

Can I get a little 🔥 emoji for sitting 97/98 while doing so, Rob? https://t.co/fcoOoX8AsK

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 3, 2020

The Houston Astros cheating scandal has rocked baseball since MLB's investigation findings were released in mid-January. The Astros were found to have used in-game technology to illegally steal opposing pitchers' signs during games in the 2017 season, which ended with Houston defeating the Dodgers in the World Series in seven games.

Bauer was asked Wednesday whether he purposefully did this against the Dodgers as a result:

"No, it had nothing to do with the Dodgers necessarily," Bauer said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer's Bob Nightengale. He continued:

"It wasn't, like, team specific. Like I said, it was just joking around and having some fun. I did it, actually, twice last year in the season, something that I'll probably do at some point again this season. I think there is a lot of interesting outcomes that can come from it psychologically and competitively and stuff. Spring training is a time when you work on things."

Bauer made clear last month that he does not think what the Astros did is a laughing matter, though (h/t Nightengale):

"I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself was completely unfair. 

"They've negatively affected the fans, they've negatively affected players, they've negatively affected kids and the future of baseball – which is what I'm most upset about."

The Reds will open their 2020 regular-season campaign against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 26. They are not, much to Bauer's presumed dismay, scheduled to play the Astros.

In the wake of criticizing Rob Manfred on a number of topics, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer met with Major League Baseball's commissioner Wednesday. 

Bauer tweeted that he had a "very productive meeting" with Manfred:

I’ve been publicly critical of Rob Manfred before, but I have to give him props. He said he’d meet with any players who had further questions and he was a man of his word this morning. We had a very productive meeting about a wide range of topics. @MLB

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 4, 2020

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported last month that MLB was considering expanding its playoff format to seven teams from each league with a live TV show featuring the No. 2 seed in both leagues picking its opponent from the group of wild-card teams.

In response, Bauer tweeted that Manfred is "a joke" for releasing the proposed format to the media. His media company, Momentum, released a video in which the right-hander called the commissioner out as a big reason why MLB is losing fanfare. 

"As the commissioner, figure it out man ... how are we supposed to get them interested in the game when they can't even see the damn game?" Bauer said. "And on top of that, they cant even go to Twitter, where all the young people hang out." 

MLB's popularity has been a major topic of discussion for years. In ESPN's World Fame 100 list published last year, Bryce Harper was the only baseball player featured at No. 99.

Per Baseball Reference, MLB's total attendance has declined every season since 2012. Last year's attendance figure of 68,494,895 was the fewest in a single season since 2003 (67,630,052). 

Bauer's meeting with Manfred comes on the cusp of the 2020 season. All 30 teams will play Opening Day on March 26. 

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer isn't fond of the sign-stealing tactics employed by the Houston Astros in recent seasons. So on Monday, he willingly tipped his own pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a form of protest:

"He's gonna start telling batters what's coming. ... It's just here it comes, try to hit it."

Trevor Bauer was indicating to Dodgers' batters what pitch he was throwing. pic.twitter.com/WyXULCCe98

— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2020

Bauer had some more fun with the situation on social media after the game:

Can I get a little 🔥 emoji for sitting 97/98 while doing so, Rob? https://t.co/fcoOoX8AsK

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 3, 2020

Bauer was candid about his feelings on the sign-stealing scheme in February, per Bobby Nightengale of Cincinnati.com:

"I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself was completely unfair. They've negatively affected the fans, they've negatively affected players, they've negatively affected kids and the future of baseball—which is what I'm most upset about."

It seems highly unlikely Bauer will continue the practice once the games count. But the symbolic gesture—it surely wasn't a coincidence he tipped his own pitches against the Dodgers, the team the Astros beat in the 2017 World Series—nonetheless made its point.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer said he's hopeful the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal creates a "new culture" around Major League Baseball where players are more willing to speak out about issues they feel are negatively impacting the sport.

Bauer told Marc Carig of The Athletic in an interview released Friday he believes MLB is at a crossroads:

"This is a very, very, very important time for the baseball industry. There's two paths forward. One, it gets squashed, tries to get forgotten about … 'Hey, let's get back to life how it was and let's go forward with that.' That's one route. The other route is you establish a new norm. You change the culture and move forward.

"This happens in politics. Any sort of leadership role, this happens. There's certain moments that come across when you have to make a decision. Do I do A or do I do B? The decision drastically changes the future. My hope, and what I think is the right answer, is it establishes a new culture where players are willing to stand up and speak on the things that they're passionate about, because I think the game desperately needs that."

Bauer is one of several high-profile players to bash the Astros for their sign-stealing scheme, which originated during the 2017 season that ended with Houston winning the World Series.

"I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself," Bauer told reporters last week.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger added: "Those guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don't realize is [Jose] Altuve stole an MVP from [Aaron] Judge in 2017. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us. But it's over."

Several players have also lamented the fact that none of the Astros players who took part in the scandal were punished by MLB for their actions.

"I don't agree with the punishments, you know, the players not getting anything. It was player-driven," Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout said. "Going up to the plate knowing what's coming...that would be a lot of fun."

Although the initial reaction was limited since Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the penalties in mid-January, the heart of the MLB offseason, the league's stars haven't shied away from the subject since spring training got underway earlier this month.

Manfred has also come under fire for his handling of the scandal, and he apologized this week for calling the league's championship trophy a "piece of metal."

"He is 100 percent in a leadership position," Bauer said of Manfred to Carig. "How do you follow a leader if you're not sure exactly the principles of that guy?"

The situation continues to hang over MLB, with the first game of spring training taking place Friday when the Texas Rangers take on the Kansas City Royals.

When it comes to disapproving of MLB's proposed playoff reformatting, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer apparently isn't alone.  

According to ESPN, league officials have discussed a postseason bracket that features three division winners and four wild-card teams. In addition, higher-seeded teams would be able to pick their opponents in specified rounds.

The typically outspoken Bauer directed a pointed tweet to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred:

No idea who made this new playoff format proposal, but Rob is responsible for releasing it, so I’ll direct this to you, Rob Manfred. Your proposal is absurd for too many reasons to type on twitter and proves you have absolutely no clue about baseball. You’re a joke.

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 11, 2020

"Generally when I say stuff, people take it one way or the other," he told reporters Sunday. "It's been mostly positive. I think when people speak and they come from a place of sincerity and like caring about the situation, you know, it's easy for people to identify that, and to hear that in the genuine nature of it."

In a video that has since gone viral, Bauer aired his various grievances with MLB and Manfred:

Critics of the playoff changes argue it could water down what is generally a dramatic postseason race. Baseball, in particular, needs to place significant weight on the regular season since it lasts 162 games, longer than any other major sports league.

ESPN's Sam Miller also explained one pitfall of allowing the best teams to select their postseason opponents:

"They would like to face the worst opponents, to be sure. But actually picking them inevitably ends up looking like an act of hubris. You pick a team, fire them up, give them all the bulletin board material they could ever hope for, and then if they actually beat you (which -- it's baseball, so of course they will), you get taunted for your arrogance? Awful. Meanwhile, the notion that lots of fans are going to tune in for this picking ceremony feels wildly optimistic."

Sports commissioners generally know a level of intense scrutiny comes with the territory.

To say Manfred is on the hot seat would be inaccurate because, to the best of our knowledge, he's in no danger of losing his job. But he's having to put out a number of fires at the moment.

In addition to the blowback over the playoff proposal, he's having to answer questions about the continued fallout from the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal and watch as fans grow frustrated with marquee franchises putting finances over contention.

The Cincinnati Reds announced third baseman Eugenio Suarez underwent surgery Tuesday to remove loose cartilage in his right shoulder.

Suarez, 28, suffered the injury in a swimming pool. The team expects him to return to action around the start of the season.

Eugenio Suárez today had surgery to remove loose cartilage in his right shoulder, an injury suffered recently in a swimming pool. His physical activity will be limited at beginning of spring training. We anticipate him to be ready to play near the beginning of the regular season.

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) January 28, 2020

The news of Suarez's injury came amid an offseason full of positives for the Reds.

In addition to adding second baseman Mike Moustakas along with pitchers Nate Jones and Wade Miley, Cincinnati made another major splash Monday by inking right fielder Nick Castellanos to a four-year, $64 million deal.

The Reds clearly have aspirations of not just making the postseason but also advancing. Suarez was expected to play a big role. The 2018 All-Star was electric last season, slashing .271/.358/.572 with 49 home runs and 103 RBI. The flip side is he led the majors in strikeouts with 189.

In his absence, Cincinnati may look to move Moustakas to third base, where he's spent the bulk of his career. He hadn't played second until he did so in 47 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019. The injury to Suarez may also silence trade talks surrounding Nick Senzel, a 24-year-old entering his second MLB season who played center field last year but who also played mostly third and some second in the minors.

The most important thing for the Reds will be to make sure Suarez is healthy as soon as possible. The National League Central is loaded with talent once again this season. The Brewers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are all capable of capturing the division this year.

Considering three of the Reds' first four series are against NL Central teams, starting strong could make all the difference this season.

Francisco Lindor's escalating salary through arbitration reportedly has the Cincinnati Reds unsure about making a strong trade offer for the Cleveland Indians star. 

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Reds have discussed a deal with the Indians, but the organization expressed "concern" over Lindor's potential $25 million salary in 2021. 

The Reds have been aggressive in free agency and via trades over the past two offseasons in an attempt to get back into playoff contention. 

Cincinnati announced a four-year agreement with outfielder Nick Castellanos on Monday. The team previously signed free-agent infielder Mike Moustakas, Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama and pitcher Wade Miley. 

One of the few lineup spots the Reds have a question mark about is shortstop. Freddy Galvis is the likely starter, but his .291 career on-base percentage makes it difficult to play him every day. 

Lindor's name has frequently come up in trade rumors this offseason, though recently it has seemed like Cleveland will start 2020 with the four-time All-Star at shortstop in tow. 

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told reporters Jan. 8 he has "every expectation" Lindor will remain with the club this offseason. 

Lindor has one more year of arbitration after 2020 before he's eligible for free agency. The 26-year-old will earn $17.5 million this season. He has been named to the American League All-Star team in each of the past four years and hit .284/.335/.518 with 32 homers in 143 games last season. 

The Cincinnati Reds have made themselves into the best team in the National League Central, and they might not even be done with their offseason maneuvers.

The Reds added their third big bat of the winter when they agreed to a deal with free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos on Monday:

🚨 CASTELLANOS OFFICIAL 🚨

The #Reds and OF Nick Castellanos have agreed to terms on a 4-year, $64-million contract through the 2023 season. pic.twitter.com/3yaxOlGgsx

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) January 27, 2020

Because Castellanos, who'll turn 28 on March 4, is in the prime of his career, it's likely that he will indeed exercise the opt-out in his contract next winter. So while this is technically a four-year gamble on the Reds' part, it's more practically a play for 2020.

It's a good thing, then, that they're well-equipped to make this play worth their while.

In Castellanos, the Reds are getting a consistently above-average hitter who mainly makes his living by racking up extra-base hits. To wit, he owns an .842 OPS and 234 extra-base hits (third in MLB) over the last three seasons. 

It's not a given that Castellanos will pick up where he left off in 2019, as the 1.002 OPS he posted in 51 games for the Chicago Cubs was arguably a case of him regressing to the mean after his slow start with the Detroit Tigers. 

Then again, his new home stadium can only help his cause. Great American Ball Park is a noted bandbox, and an overlay of its dimensions with all the fly balls he hit last season bodes well:

In addition to Castellanos, the Reds have also outfitted their offense with infielder Mike Moustakas and outfielder Shogo Akiyama. The former has clubbed 101 home runs since 2017. The latter was a superstar in Japan with the Seibu Lions, for whom he posted a .320/.398/.497 batting line between 2015 and 2019.

Factor in a full season from Aristides Aquino, who hit 19 homers in only 56 games last year, and a possible bounceback year from Joey Votto, and Cincinnati's offense has the potential to be quite good in 2020.

At the least, it should be substantially better than what the Reds endured in 2019. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez enjoyed a spectacular year with a .930 OPS and 49 long balls, but they still ranked 25th with an average of 4.3 runs per game.

If there's a hitch in the Reds' plans, it's that their offensive upgrade could come paired with a defensive downgrade. 

Castellanos is an infamously poor defender. Moustakas is a natural third baseman who'll be playing second base throughout the life of his own four-year, $64 million deal. Akiyama, who signed for $21 million over three years, is a soon-to-be 32-year-old whose defense is getting mixed reviews.

However, scoring a few extra runs isn't the only way the Reds can make up for whatever deficiencies they have on defense. Their projected rotation of Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley and Anthony DeSclafani is one of the best starting fives in all of MLB. Led by closer Raisel Iglesias, they also have some decent talent at the back end of their bullpen.

This is to say that the Reds are looking a lot better for 2020 after falling short of expectations with a 75-89 record in 2019. Further, they're arguably the only team in the NL Central that looks better now than it did at the end of last season.

After going just 84-78 in 2019, the Chicago Cubs have lost not only Castellanos, but also veteran left-hander Cole Hamels and a handful of relief pitchers to free agency. In response, they've merely invested very few dollars in less-than-stellar depth pieces.

The St. Louis Cardinals have also been pinching pennies after winning the NL Central crown with a 91-71 showing. That's cost them slugging outfielder Marcell Ozuna, which has their already weak offense—just look what happened in last year's National League Championship Series—appearing that much weaker.

With an 89-73 season in their wake, the Milwaukee Brewers have fared better despite the losses of Moustakas and catcher Yasmani Grandal to free agency. But since they've also been operating on a budget, there's a high-risk element to the roster they've curated for 2020.

That leaves the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are barely worth discussing. They lost 93 games last season and don't even have All-Star center fielder Starling Marte anymore after trading him to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

It seems difficult to argue that any of those teams are in better shape than the Reds on the eve of the 2020 season. Moreover, they still have the capacity to turn the screw even tighter.

The signings of Castellanos and Akiyama, in particular, mean they now have a surplus of outfielders from which they might trade. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Nick Senzel is an especially appealing trade chip:

Reds are considering trading Nick Senzel. Have heard his name is out there on market.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2020

Senzel's trade value is complicated by the right shoulder surgery that ended his '19 season prematurely. Yet he's only 24 years old, and it was just last year that he was universally regarded as a top-10 prospect.

The Reds might dangle Senzel for Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. Fellow superstars Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant wouldn't fit as well in Cincinnati, but Senzel could likewise be a centerpiece in a package for any of the three. And the Reds could sweeten any deal with outfielder Jesse Winker, who demolishes right-handed pitching.

Ultimately, anyone not keeping an eye on the Reds is risking missing out on something cool.

            

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.