The Cincinnati Reds have two roster moves for their off day. They’ve sent outfielder TJ Friedl and left-handed reliever Alex Young to join the Triple-A Louisville Bats to begin rehab assignment.
TJ Friedl is coming back from a broken wrist that he suffered in spring training. He was attempting to make a diving catch on March 17th when the injury occurred. That puts things at just over six weeks since the injury.
Cincinnati’s offense has been struggling without Friedl – among others also missing. The Reds have the worst average in the National League at .218. Only he Marlins have a lower on-base percentage. The club is middle of the pack in slugging percentage, but still below the league average. Friedl, who hit .279/.352/.467 should help improve the offense, as well as upgrade the defense and speed on the bases. There’s always going to be the concern that coming off of a wrist injury that he could struggle at the plate, and while that’s true, power isn’t a huge part of his game – though he isn’t a slap hitter, either.
Alex Young has been dealing with low back disc degeneration. He, like Friedl, hasn’t played a regular season game this year. Young only pitched in one game during spring training and it went about as poorly as one could imagine as he allowed six runs (five earned) on four hits, a home run, and two walks, all while he didn’t record an out.
The left-handed reliever is coming off of a season with the Reds in 2023 where he threw 53.2 innings in 63 outings and posted a 3.86 ERA. That line came with 20 walks, 50 strikeouts, and 10 home runs allowed. Cincinnati’s bullpen has been middle of the road so far this season with regards to ERA. They currently have a 4.02 ERA, which ranks 18th in baseball. Toss in the Great American Ball Park factor and they’re probably pretty close to league average.
Given that Young basically had zero spring training, it’s likely that he will spend plenty of time with Louisville working his way back. Pitchers get up to 30 days on a rehab assignment, so he could be there for the entire month. Position players can only spend 20 days on a rehab assignment, so Friedl will have less time to complete his rehab – though it feels unlikely that he would require all 20 days.
