Alex Blandino hasn’t played in a game in nearly a year. Last July the infielder tore his ACL while playing for the Cincinnati Reds. He came on as a defensive replacement against Pittsburgh in a blowout loss right after the All-Star break. Playing second base, he fielded a ball behind the bag and as he turned the double play he had to jump over a sliding Pirate at the bag. Max Moroff slid to a stop several feet short of the bag, and Blandino’s momentum took him into Moroff and the two became tangled and things went south for the Reds second baseman.
The initial time table that was shared was optimistic at best. Before having the surgery, Blandino was quoted as saying that recovery was 5-6 months. Either way, his season was over. Today marks 10 months and 11 days since the injury, and just over 10 months since he had surgery. On Monday he’s slated to begin a rehab stint with the Louisville Bats, which was first reported by Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Reds claim RJ Alaniz, sign Eric Stout
The Cincinnati Reds have been busy today adding to their farm system. The team claimed right-handed reliever R.J. Alaniz from the Seattle Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. Alex Wood was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. That doesn’t change anything about when he’s eligible to come back since he’s been on the injured list for more than 60 days at this point. The Reds also signed left-handed pitcher Eric Stout to a minor league contract.
The Louisville pitching staff has been wrecked of late. Between injuries, call ups, and just usage, it’s been a tough go of it for the Bats. Infielder Alberti Chavez has thrown 4.0 innings in the last week for them, just to show where things are currently at. They’ll get some help from R.J. Alaniz. His ERA had been rough this season. Alaniz has a mark of 20.25 (4.0 IP) in the Majors, and 6.39 (12.2 IP) in Triple-A, but he’s had 29 strikeouts this season in those 16.2 innings – a sign that he’s probably going to rebound well from that ERA. His past track record is also much better than what he’s done in limited action this year in terms of ERA.
As of right now, Eric Stout has not been assigned anywhere. But the Reds signed him to a minor league contract out of independent ball. He pitched in the Major Leagues last season with Kansas City for a brief period of time. Most of his season in 2018 was spent in Triple-A Omaha with the Royals farm team. The 26-year-old was pitching for the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association this year. He only pitched in two games, both starts, and struck out 13 batters in 9.0 innings while allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Given his history it wouldn’t be surprising if he were also assigned to Triple-A when he’s ready to report.