This morning the Cincinnati Reds made two minor league roster moves today. The Louisville Bats will be getting rehabbing big leaguers Nick Senzel and Tony Santillan. They’ll join up with Joey Votto, who began his rehab assignment with the Bats when they began their season over the weekend in Nashville.
The Bats home schedule begins tonight, so the home crowd will be in for a treat in Louisville. For those who may want to watch from afar, the game is also the free game of the day on MiLB.tv. And just a reminder that MiLB.tv is now included with MLB.tv, and you can watch the minor league games (when they are available) on your MLB app as long as you mark the Reds as your “favorite team” within the app.
Nick Senzel hasn’t played in any regular season games since last September 20th against Boston. The outfielder broke his toe in that game. At the time there wasn’t much concern about the long term prognosis, but the bone did not heal correctly and Senzel had to undergo surgery in November to correct the issue. That led to him being a little bit delayed for spring training. He eventually got into three games in the final week of March, going 0-5 at the plate.
Manager David Bell did say during spring training that the plan was for Senzel to get some playing time in both the infield and outfield. While Senzel is likely to get a majority of his playing time in the outfield, after hitting .231/.296/.306 and having a crowded outfield on the big league clubs as it is, having some recent familiarity back on the dirt gives both Senzel and Bell opportunities to mix-and-match the lineup.
The Bats are also going to be getting some bullpen help, even if just in the short term. Tony Santillan last played in the middle of June in 2022. He suffered a stress fracture in his back and missed the final three-and-a-half months of the season. The recovery from that led to his being delayed in preparation for spring training. Unlike Senzel, Santillan didn’t get into any big league games this spring. Much of his time was spent throwing bullpen sessions and some live batting practice, though he did get into some minor league games towards the end of the spring.
Nick Senzel can spend up to 20 days on rehab assignment with the Bats. Given his limited time in the spring, he may use most or all of that time. He is eligible to return to the Reds as early as Thursday April the 6th. Tony Santillan can spend up to 30 days on his rehab assignment since pitchers get more time than position players do. He is eligible to return from the injured list as early as Tuesday April 11th.