So, Ryan Freel has come off the DL, which is certainly a good thing. He's been out a month and it's nice to have him back.
However, a roster move had to be made to correspond with Freel's return.
So the three guys who you'd think would have a shot at being moved would have been:
Ray Olmedo
Anderson Machado
Kenny Kelly
All three would have to pass through waivers to make it to AAA Louisville.
It's tough to send Olmedo down with the way he's been hitting. Yeah, it's only 17 at bats, but .529/.526/.882 is kinda good. Might say he's running hot a bit.
Machado never plays. Ever. He has two at bats since being called up on July 7. Yes, two. T-w-o.
And then we have Kenny Kelly. Kelly, a player who's always been a fringe prospect, putting up a year last season at AA (.356/.441/.545) that nobody really expected. Kelly who was having a terrific year this season at AAA Louisville. Kelly who's such a solid athlete that he was a quarterback for the University of Miami.
So you'd think it'd be a good idea to cut bait on Machado right? We have a plethora of middle infield options. Felipe/Freel/Bergolla/Olmedo/Aurilia just off the top of my head. Felipe and Bergolla seem to be the future keystone combo anyway, so I'm not sure where Machado fares in future plans.
And while Cincinnati might seem to have a multitude of outfielders, we could potentially be short mighty fast. Say one or two of the big four get traded, and then maybe someone else gets hurt. If we get rid of Kelly then all of a sudden Jacob Cruz is playing every day instead of someone with some upside.
So we're agreed then? Machado would be the logical choice to send through waivers? I mean, who'd claim him? He was awful at Louisville, and the Reds don't trust him to play at the major league level right?
Of course the Reds instead have exposed Kenny Kelly to waivers. And all too predictably he was picked up by Jim Bowden.
There are times when there's nothing you can do but shake your head. This is one of those times.
Update from Marc Lancaster:
UPDATE (sort of): There may be more than just this today. Hang tight.
Second update from Marc:
Looks like Kearns is back and Machado is gone. Let the celebration commence.
Is another shoe about to drop or is this it? Jacob Cruz is playing right field tonight, which seems a bit odd.
A third update from Marc:
The Rockies have claimed Anderson Machado. Really.
And I realized after my last update that it's really not so odd that Cruz is starting. The Reds are facing Kerry Wood tonight, which probably explains why they've benched Pena.