May 21—PHILADELPHIA — During the offseason, the Cincinnati Reds extended their budget to get the impact slugger that they needed. Signing Eugenio Suárez was the biggest offseason move that the Reds had made in five years.
Over the last month, the Reds have had to carry along without him as Suárez has been on the injured list with an oblique injury. During the last few weeks, the Reds have crashed down in the standings.
The good news for the Reds is that Suárez is making progress. A follow-up MRI last Friday, May 15 cleared Suárez to resume hitting on the field and hitting against velocity. He has been out since the last week of April, and he has been ramping back up to get ready to be back in the lineup. He was expected to start a rehab assignment on Wednesday, May 20.
In his absence, the Reds’ lineup hasn’t had much consistency.
The offense has managed to be solid overall. First, designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe got hot, stepped into a role that gave him regular playing time and sparked the offseason. Then, JJ Bleday got a chance to play regularly. He hit so well that he’s now a fixture in the middle of the Reds’ order.
“He was the fourth pick in the draft not all that long ago,” manager Terry Francona said. “He had whatever struggles he had in Oakland. Our guys did a really good job of signing him because he’s obviously helping us.”
Bleday replaced Suárez on the roster when Suárez went on the injured list. While he was in a less consistent role at first, he turned heads with his ability to battle in at-bats when he was behind in the count. He earned more pitches to hit, and he has turned into one of the Reds’ better power hitters.
“He’s pretty disciplined,” Lowe said. “He’s regimented in his routine. He’s regimented in his practice. Obviously, it’s showing up in games.”
On the other side of the coin, since Suárez went on the injured list, rookie first baseman Sal Stewart has been slumping.
Suárez had been hitting behind Stewart, providing him protection in the lineup. Also, pitchers are making adjustments against the rookie and pitching him in different ways.
He started getting pounded in,” Francona said. “It got him off of what he was hitting before. He’s kind of in between a bit right now. Like you see with a lot of guys, he’s maybe trying to hit his way out of it. It’s easier said than done. He’s a young kid hitting right smack in the middle of the order. They still walked him. He’ll be ok. He’s too good of a hitter. He’s ok.
While Francona has kept Stewart in the lineup, he has had him hit fifth a few times. It’s a less prominent spot in the order, but he doesn’t want Stewart changing his approach based off where he’s hitting.
The patience paid off on Wednesday, May 20 as Stewart went 4-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBIs in the Reds 9-4 win in Philadelphia.
“When we move guys in the lineup, I don’t want them to ever adjust their swing for where they’re hitting in the order,” Francona said. “We try to put them where it makes sense with the way they’re hitting.”