Christian

Encarnacion-Strand

Encarnacion-Strand represents a worthwhile zero-risk gamble for the injury-ravaged Orioles since he can play both corner infield spots and possesses top-of-the-charts raw power potential. The 26-year-old former top prospect fell out of favor with Cincinnati, mostly due to injuries and the emergence of other top prospects like Sal Stewart. It’s not out of the question that a change of scenery could breathe new life into his once-promising career. He’ll head to Triple-A Norfolk for now but figures to arrive in Baltimore at some point shortly.

This is quite a fall for the 26-year-old. Encarnacion-Strand emerged as an intriguing power prospect after hitting 32 home runs in Double-A for the Twins and Reds in 2022. He then hit 13 home runs in 63 MLB games for the Reds in 2023, but things quickly fell apart after that. He was limited to just 29 games in 2024 due to injury, and his results at Triple-A were modest in 2025. Still, there is plenty of power in his bat, and we’d be shocked if somebody didn’t claim him off waivers. He might be traded before that happens.

We still have some faith in CES, but it can’t bode overly well that the Reds have him batting sixth in Louisville’s lineup. He’s 4-for-13 with a homer through three games.

Both players were always seen as longshots to crack a crowded Opening Day roster, so there’s no real surprise here. Encarnacion-Strand, who was the Reds’ Opening Day first baseman in each of the past two seasons, will have to prove his health and produce at the Triple-A level before earning another shot in Cincinnati.

Injuries and inconsistent production have prevented CES fr making good on his prospect promise. He’s only 26 years old and there are some intriguing batted ball metrics under the hood, but the Reds roster is really crowded now, which makes it hard to see how he makes the Opening Day roster.

The 26-year-old slugger is currently on a running progression that he’ll need to work through before he’s cleared for live game action. It doesn’t sound like it should impact his availability for the start of the regular season, though any missed time during Cactus League play could hurt his chances of cracking the team’s Opening Day roster.

The 25-year-old is hitting just .232/.259/.464 in July with four home runs, 13 RBI, and a 15/1 K/BB ratio. With no clear spot for him at the big league level, you have to wonder if the Reds would be willing to trade Encarnacion-Strand at the deadline to land a player like Luis Robert Jr. or other outfielders they have been linked to.

This certainly qualifies as an unexpected surprise. Encarnacion-Strand has barely played for Cincinnati over the last week with Noelvi Marte emerging as the club’s starting third baseman and Spencer Steer occupying first base. The 25-year-old former top prospect is hitting just .208/.234/.377 with six homers and 19 RBI across 137 plate appearances over 36 games. The logical explanation here is that the Reds would rather have him playing everyday at the Triple-A level instead of languishing on the bench.

Fraley was found to have a tear in his right shoulder, but since it’s not his throwing shoulder, he thinks he can play through it and have surgery after the season. He’ll probably be activated as soon as Thursday or Friday, which could lead to a demotion for Connor Joe or Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

Marte, who hit .333 with two homers and just one strikeout during a nine-game rehab assignment, is back two months after suffering a strained oblique. The Reds have him starting at third base and batting seventh today. His return should result in far less playing time for Santiago Espinal, but Espinal is starting at second with Matt McLain DHing today. Christian Encarnacion-Strand could also lose some at-bats. Marte should be worth playing in mixed leagues; he was batting .294/.342/.515 with three homers and four steals in 19 games before getting hurt.