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There was a chance, albeit slight, that we’d see the Cincinnati Reds call up uber-prospect Nick Senzel today. By waiting until today, April 13th, the Reds would’ve been able to call Senzel up, have him for the rest of the 2018 season, and still maintain six full years of team control beyond this season. We’ll still surely see him at some point this year, but today was not the day they chose to make that call.
Instead, the Reds made another head-scratcher of a move, optioning the struggling Tanner Rainey back to AAA, promoting reliever Dylan Floro to the active roster, and designating Ariel Hernandez for assignment to free up a 40-man roster spot for Floro.
The #Reds have selected the contract of RHP Dylan Floro from the Triple-A @LouisvilleBats, optioned RHP Tanner Rainey to Louisville and designated for assignment RHP Ariel Hernandez. pic.twitter.com/sc3Y7lfGMv
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 13, 2018
Yep, the same Ariel Hernandez who throws 100 mph, has one of the better sliders I’ve ever seen thrown (when he’s on), and was so electric in an April appearance last year that FanGraphs dedicated this entire article to his ability.
In Floro, the Reds get a 27 year old journeyman who came up in the Tampa Bay Rays system, cracked the big leagues for a sniff with the Chicago Cubs, has a 91 mph fastball that’s largely been chewed up wherever he’s been, and joined the Reds on a minor-league contract earlier this spring. So, there’s that to be excited about.
Shuffling Rainey back to AAA makes some sense. He has struggled, and barely has any upper minors experience under his belt. Opting for Floro over the likes of Jimmy Herget or, I dunno, Ariel Hernandez himself makes you wanna scratch your head until it bleeds.
Whatever.
Go Reds.