TJ

Friedl

Suárez being claimed by the Diamondbacks or Mariners would have made for a fun story, but instead he’ll finish out the regular season with the Reds. Neither club was willing to pick up approximately $3 million in salary for the 35-year-old slugger.

Friedl, formerly the Reds’ starting center fielder, is batting just .158/.242/.234 in 253 plate appearances this season. He’s owed only about $750,000 for the rest of this season, with no commitment beyond that (though a team could keep him in arbitration). That might entice some team to pick him up as a bench guy. If that happens, the Reds could recall Noelvi Marte to help out in the outfield.

Cincinnati failed to resolve their crowded outfield situation at the trade deadline earlier this week, but made the decision to promote Rodríguez anyway. The dynamic 22-year-old went 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run against the Athletics in his big-league debut on Tuesday night. He possesses a fantasy-relevant skillset and is worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues. The big question is whether he’s able to carve out an everyday role over the next few weeks with JJ Bleday, Noelvi Marte, Dane Myers and TJ Friedl still in the mix.

At this point, it’s pretty clear that Friedl has been supplanted by Noelvi Marte in the team’s starting lineup, as Friedl has started just once in the team’s last six games despite facing five right-handers during that stretch. It’s Marte in right field once again and batting eighth for the Reds on Friday evening against Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes.

Johnson went 0-for-5 in four games in his first MLB stint earlier this season. The 27-year-old is hitting .278/.373/.474 in 61 games at Triple-A with 10 home runs and 11 steals. He will be on the bench on Monday with TJ Friedl starting in left field and JJ Bleday moving over to right field. That could be the regular lineup against right-handed pitchers for the next few weeks.

Freidl had been 0-for-7 since being recalled when Blake Dunn got hurt. It’d be for the best if Matt McLain proved to be strong enough in center to play over Friedl, but Friedl will likely continue to start against righties for now. He’s batting .181/.259/.271 in 51 major league games this season.

Friedl was optioned out at the beginning of June after flailing to a miserable .179/.259/.256 slash line with just two homers and five steals through his first 178 plate appearances. He appears to have gotten back on track at the Triple-A level where he hit .271/.370/.471 with three homers, five RBI and a pair of stolen bases over 81 plate appearances in 18 games. He’ll have a chance to see every day at-bats against right-handers with Blake Dunn (elbow) landing on the injured list on Sunday. He’s starting in center and batting eighth against Mitch Keller and the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

It’s been a rough season for Friedl, who is hitting .179/.259/.256 with two home runs and five steals in 178 plate appearances. He’s still playing solid center field, but the Reds want to see if Noelvi Marte can replicate some of that defense with far more offensive upside.

That’s three of Cincinnati’s last five games that Friedl has sat in as the Reds are riding hot hand JJ Bleday, including two games against right-handed starters. If you were holding on to hope in medium-sized leagues that he could turn around a .184/.268/.270 start in his first 39 games, the Reds aren’t going to make it easy for you to hold him.

There wasn’t much doubt that Friedl would be back in center tonight, but the Reds could have maybe dropped him in the lineup with him hitting just .185/.267/.274. Still, as poor as that is, it’s not like the team has much in the way of alternatives, aside from maybe just going with Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart first and second, rather than third and fourth. But that’s not Terry Francona’s style. The Reds have been giving Noelvi Marte more time in center in Triple-A of late, so Friedl might need to get things going soon.