Pitching, outfield help top offseason to-do list
Reds GM: ‘It’s time to start building this for where we want to go.’
CINCINNATI — That the Cincinnati Reds hope to upgrade their pitching this offseason — either by adding a couple of starters or bolstering the bullpen or both — is not news.
The Reds added to their to-do list recently when they decided to not offer center fielder Billy Hamilton a 2019 contract, avoiding arbitration and making him a free agent.
Just like that, Cincinnati opened a hole in the outfield it needs to fill. Whether Hamilton’s replacement comes from within the organization or from outside could be decided during baseball’s annual winter meetings, which convene at Mandala Bay in Las Vegas on Sunday and run through Thursday.
“We’ve got to figure out who is going to be the everyday center fielder and how we will fill that hole,” general manager Nick Krall said.
One possible scenario is moving Scott Schebler from the corner spots to center, where he’s made 49 appearances in his career, including 16 last season. That would create a spot for highly regarded prospect Nick Senzel, the team’s 2016 No. 1 draft pick. Senzel, exclusively an infielder before this season, was gaining outfield experience in instructional league action until undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
“I think right now, saying that Nick Senzel is this guy, that’s hard,” Krall said. “Nick played a couple of innings in instructional league while he was rehabbing. He’s going to go into spring training — and look, he’s played some outfield, he’s played second, short and third. He’s got quality versatility. He’s a very good athlete that can do a lot of different things. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities, but at the same time, I can’t tell you that he’s the guy. It’s not fair to him.”
New manager David Bell was too busy putting faces to names and voices during Redsfest, the