Reds first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand has been designated for project, the crew introduced. Catcher P.J. Higgins is taking his spot on the 40-man roster. Higgins was recalled after catcher Jose Trevino went to the IL resulting from a thoracic backbone pressure.
Encarnacion-Strand was the inheritor obvious at first base as Joey Votto‘s legendary career wound down. He delivered a 113 wRC+ across 63 games as a rookie in 2023. With Votto moving on at the end of that season, Encarnacion-Strand opened 2024 as Cincinnati’s on a regular basis first baseman. He hit simply .190 over the primary six weeks of the yr. A damaged wrist ended his marketing campaign in early May.
It was extra of the identical for Encarnacion-Strand final yr. He had the primary base job to start the season, however posted a .482 OPS by means of three weeks, then hit the IL with again irritation. Encarnacion-Strand spent most of June with the big-league membership, slashing .230/.262/.410 over 17 video games. He was despatched again to Triple-A in early July.
The Reds landed Encarnacion-Strand in an August 2022 commerce that despatched right-hander Tyler Mahle to Minnesota. Cincinnati additionally acquired infielder Spencer Steer and left-hander Steve Hajjar within the deal. The swap appeared like a very good piece of enterprise for Cincinnati after 2023, with Mahle restricted to 9 begins in his Twins tenure and the infielders wanting like key cogs for the Reds. Outside of Steer’s league-average contributions the previous couple of seasons, it’s largely ended up as a wash for each side.
Higgins hasn’t appeared within the massive leagues since 2022 with the Cubs. He was first rate in part-time work with Chicago, delivering a 99 wRC+ with six dwelling runs throughout 74 video games. After bouncing to the Diamondbacks after which again to the Cubs, Higgins landed with the Reds on a minor league deal forward of the 2024 season. He’s offered subpar offensive numbers over the previous two years at Triple-A. The 32-year-old will function the backup to Tyler Stephenson whereas Trevino is sidelined.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
