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    Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Photo: Mark Meeks/Todd Norris/Chattanooga Lookouts)
    Photo: Mark Meeks/Todd Norris/Chattanooga Lookouts

    Reds Notebook: Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s spring is delayed

    Doug Gray 11

    Christian Encarnacion-Strand may not be ready to start spring training on time after a recent back injury. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer was the first to report the news on Encarnacion-Strand.

    A non-roster invite to big league camp, Christian Encarnacion-Strand probably had a small chance to win a spot on the 26-man roster for opening day. But he’s also a guy who hit .304/.368/.587 last season with 31 doubles, 5 triples, and 32 home runs. With that kind of hitting under his belt, the ability to play third base, first base, and be a designated hitter – and some of that coming in Double-A – it wouldn’t be the craziest thing for a guy like that to put together a big spring and make the team really think about what to do.

    For now it would seem that he’s going to be a little behind everyone else in getting started. Unlike last spring training, there could still be time for him to get healthy and make an impression on the coaching staff and front office who will have to make the decision. Games don’t begin until next weekend, so he’ll have time to catch up but if he misses more than a few weeks he may have to head to the minor leagues and make an impression down there.

    Update on February 17th

    Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that manager David Bell said that Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s back will be fine within a few days.

    Reds sign Pedro Alfonseca

    Cincinnati signed free agent Pedro Alfonseca. He was a 17th round draft pick of Cleveland back in 2017, but he was an outfielder at that time. He was released in 2021 prior to the season beginning, never having reached full season ball and hitting just .227 in his career. Last year he resurfaced in the Pioneer League with the Rocky Mountain Vibes as a pitcher. He didn’t find much success in his first action in games while on the mound, giving up 15 runs in 11.1 innings while walking 16 batters, hitting another one, and giving up 14 hits to go along with 9 strikeouts. But the now 25-year-old certainly seems to have a live arm.

     

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    11 Responses

    2. Pedro Alfonseca? Got to give the Reds credit for one thing – if there’s a rock out there, they will turn it over.

    3. I think he has a lot of work to do and has zero chance of being in Cincinnati on opening day. He needs to work on things in the minors and not be overwhelmed in the majors, as he would be right now.

      His 5/1 K/BB ratio in Chattanooga does not work. Love his power but his K/BB ratio should be closer to 3/1.

      1. Based on 2022 results, we don’t have a prospect that is ready to join the Reds out of spring, but many on the cusp. The midseason roster might be a lot of fun as the youth will probably be taking over the roster.

      2. Five strikeouts per walk does not work, but three strikeouts per walk works? Must be another one of those advanced metrics I don’t understand.

        1. Once a hitters strikeout to walk ratio goes above 3.0 it becomes increasingly tougher for them to be a good hitter. It’s not impossible, but they need to be elite somewhere for it to work – and that area is almost always going to be power. Most guys with such a poor strikeout-to-walk ratio can’t hit enough to even stick around. In the last 23 seasons there have been 709 big leaguers accumulate 2000 plate appearances. That’s less than 4 full seasons of playing time. Only 9 of those 709 have a K/BB ratio of 5-1 or worse. The best OPS among those 9 is .766 – Javier Baez.

      1. Probably just one year, though sometimes they can get guys to sign 2-year deals. And of course there’s always the part where if he truly looks the part, you add him to the 40-man and keep him around that way.

          1. How so? Because mostly what I remember about that movie is how bad the scouts were at their job.

    6. Been living in COS for a few years and go to a couple Vibes games a year

      Don’t recognize this guy specifically but….Vibes entire pitching staff has been bad

      Good luck to him

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