The Cincinnati Reds made a set of roster moves this afternoon. The team optioned right handed pitcher Josh Smith to Double-A Pensacola. Taking his place on the roster is outfielder Yorman Rodriguez.
Rodriguez made his Major League debut last September, but has spent the entirety of his 2015 season in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He’s hit .272/.310/.432 on the season for Louisville, but he’s been hitting much better of late.
Since May 21st the Venezuelan born outfielder has hit .323/.360/.471 in 165 plate appearances with six doubles, a triple and five home runs. I talked about the changes he had made in May last week and how it’s helped turn his season around and after a slow start, he’s been hitting the ball quite well.
Rodriguez was scheduled to be on the World Team in the Futures Game on Sunday, but this would seem to remove him from the game unless he’s sent back down before then. Which brings up an important question: What’s the role that Rodriguez is going to play? Are they going to start him over either of the corner guys or in center over Billy Hamilton? That would surprise me at this point. So are they calling him up to just sit him on the bench and use him as a pinch hitter twice before sending him back down when they need to bring up a 5th starter later this week?
Unless there is a trade on the horizon that opens up an outfield spot, it would seem that Rodriguez is joining the Reds to fill out the roster. It’s a strange move if that’s the case given that they could have just recalled Brennan Boesch to ride the pine for a few days and kept Rodriguez playing every day for Louisville.
In a scenario where Rodriguez does see actual playing time, it will be interesting to see how he handles it. Defensively, he should be fine regardless of where the team plays him in the outfield. While he would be a downgrade to Hamilton in center, and who wouldn’t, he can handle the position. He’d be a big upgrade in left over Marlon Byrd and he may be an upgrade to Bruce in right as well.
At the plate is where things will be interesting. While he’s made some adjustments at the plate of late, he’s still a bit aggressive in his approach and while his strikeout rate wasn’t high in Triple-A, it wasn’t low either. If he can maintain the approach he had in June, he could make things work. But patience will be a key for him as he can get too aggressive at times and wind up chasing pitches. In the past when he’s gone to a more patient approach, it’s been the approach that’s led to the best results both in terms of average and in power. If Don Long can talk him into finding that approach, much like he’s done with Marlon Byrd since the end of April, it would be a great benefit for Rodriguez and for the Reds.