2020 Cincinnati Reds season to begin earlier than ever
The Cincinnati Reds CINCINNATI — will start the regular season earlier than ever in 2020.
Major League Baseball released the 2020 schedule for all teams on Monday, and the Reds will play the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, March 26 at Great American Ball Park.
That’s two days earlier than Opening Day this year when the Reds played the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 28. That was the earliest opener in Reds history.
The 2020 opener will be the seventh the Reds have played in March. All those games have taken place since 1998.
The Reds will play the
Cardinals on Opening Day for the first time since 2014 and the third time since 2010. Roster move: The Reds claimed veteran infielder Freddy Galvis off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. He’s expected to join the team Tuesday for the second game of a series on the road against the Washington Nationals.
Galvis, 29, of Venezuela, hit .267 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs in 115 games with the Blue Jays this season. This is his eighth season in the big leagues. He played six season with the Philadelphia Phillies and played last season with the San Diego Padres. He played in all 162 games in 2017 and 2018.
The Blue Jays tried to trade Galvis before the July 31 trade deadline, according to SportsNet, but couldn’t find any takers. They wanted to free up playing time for younger players, such as Bo Bichette.
Galvis has played 103 games at shortstop this season and five at second base.
Suspension begins: Reds reliever Amir Garrett started serving an eight-game suspension Monday.
Garrett was one of six players suspended after a brawl with the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30. Garrett started the brawl by charging the Pirates dugout. He appealed the suspension.
The loss of Garrett means the Reds will be without their top reliever for an eight-game stretch that includes three games against the Nationals, a four-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals and one game at home against the San Diego Padres. He has a team-best 2.74 ERA in 52 appearances.
Both managers, David Bell and Clint Hurdle, were also suspended. Bell finished his six-game suspension last week.
Reliever Jared Hughes also finished serving his threegame suspension last weekend.
Rookie honored: Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino won the National League Player of the Week award on Monday.
Aquino hit .500 (11-for-22) with a .542 on-base percentage, six home runs, eight runs scored, 11 RBIs and a double last week.