Nick Martinez Agrees to Two-Year, $26 Million Contract with Cincinnati Reds

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Nick Martinez is seeing Red(s)…

The 33-year-old Latino professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher, has agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds, according to ESPN.

Martinez’s hiring caps a busy Wednesday in which the Reds bulked up their pitching staff in hopes of winning the National League Central next season.

Martinez had opted out of the final two years of his contract with the San Diego Padres that would have paid him $16 million after the Padres declined their two-year, $32 million club option on him.

He comes off a season in which he pitched 54 games out of the bullpen but thrived over nine starts, posting a 2.32 ERA in 42⅔ innings.

Martinez’s deal, which is pending a physical, will pay him $14 million in 2024, sources said, at which point he can head back to free agency. If he opts into the contract, Martinez would be paid $12 million in 2025.

Martinez is expected to join a rotation that could include any of five 25-and-under pitchers: Right-handers Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft and left-handers Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson.

After four years of middling success with the Texas Rangers, Martinez spent four seasons in Japan, thriving in 2021 with a 1.60 ERA in 140⅔ innings. He returned stateside with more fastball velocity and an elite Vulcan-grip changeup he learned while in Japan. Martinez signed with the Padres, opting out of his deal after one season but re-signing last November for three years and $26 million, with the dual options following the first season.

In the two seasons since his return to Major League Baseball, Martinez is 10-8 with a 3.45 ERA and 201 strikeouts against 81 walks in 216⅔ innings.

Emilio Pagan Signs Two-Year Deal with Cincinnati Reds

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Emilio Pagan is headed to Ohio…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball player has signed with the Cincinnati Reds on a two-year deal for the right-handed reliever.

The deal is reportedly worth $16,000,000 and includes both a player option after the first season and performance bonuses.

The Cincinnati Reds are expecting to spend money this offseason according to Bob Castellini, with the signing of Pagan considered the first of several deals the team makes this offseason to add to their 82-win club from 2023 that’s full of young talent.

Pagan spent the 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins and had one of the best years of his career.

He pitched in 66 games and threw 69.1 innings while posting a 2.99 ERA, giving up 45 hits – including 5 home runs – to go along with 21 walks and 65 strikeouts.

He has played in the MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins. He plays for the Puerto Rico national baseball team.

Jasson Domínguez Becomes Youngest New York Yankees Player to Homer in MLB Debut

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jasson Domínguez is celebrating a smashing Major League Baseball debut…

The 20-year-old Dominican baseball player and New York Yankees player wowed everyone on Friday night, hitting a two-run homer off Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat.

At just 20 years, 206 days old, Domínguez became the youngest Yankees player to homer in his first game. He was the first Yankees player to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Aaron Judge on Aug. 13, 2016.

Additionally, it was just the second time a player homered off a reigning Cy Young Award winner in his first at-bat, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The other was Marcus Thames — also for the Yankees — on June 10, 2002, off Randy Johnson.

After Domínguez swatted his opposite-field home run to the short porch in left off a three-time Cy Young Award winner twice his age, TV cameras panned to his family, who screamed and jumped around after watching the ball leave the yard for a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Four years after Yankees manager Aaron Boone saw him taking batting practice as a teenager, the highly touted prospect was a huge hit in his big league debut.

The switch-hitting outfielder and another promising youngster, catcher Austin Wells, were called up from the minors by the last-place Yankees when rosters expanded Friday.

“Everyone’s excited for them and excited to see them,” Boone said before the game. “Both [are] talented guys who earned this opportunity, and looking forward to watching them go spread their wings and continue to develop and hopefully see some good things.”

Domínguez is expected to be the team’s everyday center fielder after Harrison Bader was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, and Boone said Wells will also play a lot over the last month of the season. They were both in the starting lineup Friday night, with Domínguez batting fifth and Wells seventh.

“When I heard the news, it was a special moment,” Domínguez said in Spanish through a translator. “Just to be here, very excited. Happy to be right here today, and it’s a special day.”

Wells is regarded more for his bat than his defense, but he’s hoping to show he can be a valuable contributor in both areas in the majors.

“I’m here to do that as well and play and help the team win,” he said. “So, that’s my goal and if I can do it in any way, I’ll do it any way.”

Expectations have been high for Domínguez since he received a $5.1 million bonus when he signed with the Yankees. His unique combination of strength and speed at such a young age earned him a catchy nickname: The Martian.

But he said he doesn’t feel any added pressure because of that.

“I haven’t really been paying too much attention to all that, all the comments and all the information about me,” he said. “I’m not much on social media. I’m not reading a lot of the different articles that are written. I just try to focus on what I can do and try to play my game and better myself so that I can fulfill whatever expectation there is being the best I can be.”

Domínguez was set to become the youngest player to appear in a game for the Yankees since 19-year-old pitcher José Rijo in July 1984 — and the youngest position player since 20-year-old outfielder Stan Javier in April 1984.

Boone is certainly aware of the expectations people have for Domínguez and believes he’ll live up to them.

“I think he’s going to be a really good player,” Boone said. “I really do. [He’s] not a finished product. And we’ll see how his journey goes. He’s obviously a very young man, super talented. I think when we look up in several years, we’re going to see a really good player in front of us and he gets to start to write that script, in the big leagues anyway, starting today.”

Domínguez joins the team after playing just nine games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He hit .419 with two doubles and 10 RBIs there after batting .254 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs in 109 games for Double-A Somerset.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand Makes Major League Baseball Debut in Cincinnati Reds Game vs. San Francisco

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Christian Encarnacion-Strand has made his Major League Baseball debut…

Hoping to spark a struggling offense, the slumping Cincinnati Reds promoted the 23-year-old Latino American baseball player, a top MLB prospect and inserted him into the starting lineup against San Francisco for his MLB debut.

Encarnacion-Strand, an infielder, flied out to right in his first at-bat, hitting seventh as the designated hitter, and grounded out in the fifth. He was among four rookies in the Reds’ starting lineup, joining third baseman Elly De La Cruz, shortstop Matt McLain and pitcher Brandon Williamson.

“It means a lot,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “Now, I get to play with a really, really good group of guys. The guys have been always welcoming. The same thing in spring training, they were super, super nice to me. I don’t feel pressure or anxiety to go in there with them.”

A native of Walnut Creek, California, Encarnacion-Strand hit .331 with 21 doubles, 20 homers and 62 RBIs with a 1.042 OPS in 67 games this year for Triple-A Louisville. He led the International League with 177 total bases.

According to Major League Baseball, at 27 characters his name is the longest in big league history, five longer than Minnesota pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson. MLB included the hyphen in its count.

“He’s played well,” Reds general manager Nick Krall said. “He deserved a shot with Kevin on the injured list.”

Infielder Kevin Newman was placed on the 10-day injured list with gastritis, a move retroactive to Friday.

“It was the perfect time to bring him up. He made adjustments over the last couple of months. He is taking better at-bats. With that he’s still shown power,” Krall said. “He has been able to hit outside of the zone, but cutting down his chase rate brought the zone more to him. It allowed him to get better at the Triple-A level.”

Cincinnati entered Monday with a four-game losing streak after getting swept in a three-game series at Milwaukee. The Reds were shut out in three straight games before Sunday’s 4-3 loss.

Encarnacion-Strand was Minnesota’s fourth-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft. He was acquired last August with infielder/outfielder Spencer Steer and left-hander Steve Hajjar for right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Elly De La Cruz Makes Cincinnati Reds History By Stealing Second, Third & Home in Same Inning

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Elly De La Cruz has stolen his way into the Cincinnati Reds history books…

The 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball player became the first Reds player since 1919 to steal second, third and home in the same inning, the latest electrifying feat from the franchise-changing rookie.

De La Cruz broke a 5-5 tie with the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single off Elvis Peguero, then got to work making the reliever’s life miserable. He stole second. Then, on a 1-2 pitch from Peguero (1-2), he swiped third without a throw.

The rattled reliever caught the ball from his catcher in front of the mound and turned his back as he walked slowly toward the rubber. Pausing only to put his helmet back on, De La Cruz walked down the third-base line, broke into a sprint and easily beat Peguero’s rushed throw to the plate.

“I kept checking on him, checking on him to see if he was going to go back or if he was checking on me or anything like that,” De La Cruz said through a translator. “When I saw him walk back to the mound, he was at kind of at a slow pace. He didn’t look back over there at third, so I decided there to go.”

De La Cruz bounced up in jubilation and skipped toward the dugout, leaping to high-five his teammates.

After Joey Votto made the last out, Peguero was booed off the field. Cincinnati ended up winning the game 8-5.

De La Cruz became the first player in the past 50 years to steal three bases in a single plate appearance. The last player to steal all three bases in the same inning was Miami’s Jon Berti in a 3-0 win at the New York Mets on Aug. 25, 2020.

“It’s on all of us really, on all of us,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a good baseball by him. We weren’t aware enough, like, all over the place, on the field, in the dugout, everywhere.”

Reds manager David Bell could only marvel at the rookie’s derring-do.

“It’s so much fun to watch, so much fun to be part of,” Bell said. “It’s one of those plays that’s so rare, especially on two pitches to steal a base like that. The speed is obvious, just elite speed like maybe we’ve never seen, but also how heads-up it was.”

The surging Reds, who were 27-33 when De La Cruz was promoted from the minors June 6, improved to 23-7 since and expanded their lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central to two games.

De La Cruz has 16 stolen bases in 30 games and went 2-for-5 Saturday to improve his batting average to .328. He’s the first player in MLB history with at least 40 hits and 15 stolen bases in his first 30 career games in the majors, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The shortstop’s only blemish was a nonchalant toss to second for the final out, but the play withstood a replay challenge.

Lucas Sims (3-1) threw 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief, Jonathan India‘s sacrifice fly in the ninth gave the Reds a three-run lead, and All-Star Alexis Diaz got the last three outs for his 26th save in 27 chances.

Elly De La Cruz Appears in New Ad for Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Elly De La Cruz is on a mission…

The 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a Cincinnati Reds rookie, shows off his acting skills in a new advertisement for the upcoming movie “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, starring Tom Cruise.

De La Cruz, who has been a breakout star on the field this season, appears alongside soccer star Alex Morgan and NFL standout Odell Beckham Jr.

The three athletes show off their speed in homage to Cruise’s signature sprint in the long-running action franchise.

De La Cruz, a third baseman, filmed his portion of the ad — in which he swings a bat and runs — about two weeks ago.

He fielded questions from reporters on Friday night before the NL Central-leading Reds took on the second-place Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series before the MLB All-Star break. The teams will meet again immediately after the break, with a three-game set in Cincinnati.

Asked if he had acted before, De La Cruz laughed and responded, “Just by myself, yeah, I’ve been an actor.”

De La Cruz is batting .325 in 27 games with four homers, 14 RBI, 12 stolen bases and 25 runs scored.

The Reds were 27-33 when De La Cruz was promoted from Triple-A Chattanooga on June 6. Since then, the club has rocketed into first place, going 22-6 and carrying a two-game lead over Milwaukee into this weekend’s series. He has started 27 of the Reds’ 28 games since his debut.

De La Cruz touched on why he wears No. 44 — made famous by Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

“It’s just an honor to have that number and to wear this same number that a lot of legends in this game have worn in the past,” De La Cruz said. “It’s just an honor.”

On the Mission: Impossible grind. Run don’t walk to see #MissionImpossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in theatres Wednesday. https://t.co/Qowms0U3Pv pic.twitter.com/ROHp3GXkWn

— Mission: Impossible (@MissionFilm) July 7, 2023

Elly De La Cruz Becomes Youngest MLB Player to Hit for Cycle in 51 Years

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Elly De La Cruz is making Major League Baseball history…

The 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball infielder and Cincinnati Reds rookie became the youngest MLB player to hit for the cycle in 51 years during Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves.

De La Cruz completed the cycle when he blasted a sixth-inning triple that scored teammate Jonathan India, giving the Reds an 11-7 lead.

He became the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Houston’s César Cedeño in 1972, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

De La Cruz is also the third player since 1901 to hit for the cycle within his first 15 career games.

De La Cruz also became the first Reds’ player to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis in 1989.

De La Cruz’s cycle included a third-inning home run, his third on the season.

Top MLB Prospect Elly De La Cruz Hits First MLB Home Run

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Elly De La Cruz has launched his Major League Baseball with a bang…

The 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds hit his first MLB home run with a 458-foot, two-run drive off the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Noah Syndergaard on Wednesday night and later tripled.

With fellow rookie Matt McLain on second base in the first inning, De La Cruz, a switch-hitter, smashed an 0-1 fastball that left the bat at 114.8 mph and landed in the last rows of the right-field stands at Great American Ball Park.

A day after making his big league debut, De La Cruz, who was named baseball’s top prospect by ESPN‘s Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, had the second-hardest-hit home run by a player 21 or younger since Statcast started tracking in 2015.

A homer by the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on August 21, 2020, had an exit velocity of 115.9 mph.

De La Cruz tripled on a curveball in the third, a drive that went to the wall in right-center on four hops.

He reached third in 10.83 seconds, the fastest time in the major leagues this season, according to Statcast. It was the second fastest since the start of the 2020 season, behind 10.75 seconds for the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Corbin Carroll last October 3.

Cruz was 1-for-3 with two walks in his debut Tuesday night. Wednesday night’s home run came in his sixth plate appearance.

The shortstop hit .298 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 38 games for Triple-A Louisville this season.

Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez Launches Go-Ahead, Two-Run Homer to Lead Team to Victory Over Seattle Mariners

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Yordan Alvarez has done it again…

The 25-year-old Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Seattle Mariners ace Luis Castillo that lifted the Houston Astros over the Mariners 4-2 on Thursday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.

Alvarez was the Game 1 hero with his gut-punch, three-run shot off reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray with two outs in the ninth inning that gave the Astros an 8-7 win in a game in which they had trailed by four.

With Thursday’s home run, Alvarez became the first player in Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason history to hit multiple career go-ahead homers in the sixth inning or later when his team was trailing, and both of his came in his past two games, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Castillo, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds near the trade deadline and coming off 7⅓ innings of shutout ball against Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round, gave up an early home run to Kyle Tucker but little else as he took a 2-1 lead into the sixth.

But with two outs, Jeremy Peña singled on a blooper that fell in between second baseman Adam Frazier and center fielder Julio Rodríguez. Castillo bent down and slapped his legs in disappointment as he watched the ball drop in shallow center.

That brought up Alvarez, who hit a 98 mph pitch tailing away to the opposite field, into the short porch in left to put the Astros on top 3-2.

Alvarez, who had 37 homers in the regular season, trotted around the bases as cameras panned to his Cuban parents, who are watching their first postseason series after arriving in Houston in August. The lefty pointed to them as he reached the plate before reenacting the powerful swing that has the Astros one win away from their sixth straight AL Championship Series.

There were two outs and a runner on first in the eighth when Seattle had surely seen enough of Alvarez leaving the yard. The Mariners intentionally walked him and Alex Bregman made them pay, adding some insurance when he singled to make it 4-2.

Houston starter Framber Valdez had a solid start, allowing four hits and two runs in 5⅔ innings. He had a different look than he did in his last postseason appearance after he and fellow pitcher Luis Garcia both got hair extensions this season.

Hector Neris earned the win after getting the last out of the sixth inning to escape a bases-loaded jam. Bryan Abreu got the first two outs of the seventh before Rafael Montero came in and threw 1⅓ scoreless innings.

Ryan Pressly walked the leadoff batter in the ninth before J.P. Crawford lined into a double play. Rodríguez doubled after that, but Pressly struck out Ty France for the save. The Astros won despite issuing seven walks overall.

The Mariners will head back to Seattle for Game 3 on Saturday in a huge hole in the best-of-five series as they host their first playoff game in 21 years.

Oakland A’s Pitcher Frankie Montas Acquired by New York Yankees

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Frankie Montas is heading to the Northeast…

The 29-year-old Dominican professional baseball right-handed, starting pitcher has been acquired by the New York Yankees, alongside part-Latino closer Lou Trivino in a deal with the Oakland Athletics.

The A’s are receiving left-handers Ken Waldichuk and J.P. Sears, right-hander Luis Medina and second baseman Cooper Bowman from the Yankees. Waldichuk, 24, was the fifth-highest-ranked prospect in the Yankees’ farm system, according to MLB.com.

The American League-best Yankees have had a busy deadline, acquiring outfielder Andrew Benintendi and rookie reliever Scott Effross before solidifying an already strong rotation and bullpen with the acquisitions of Montas and Trivino.

The trade for Montas is the second involving a highly sought-after starting pitcher this week, following Seattle’s acquisition of right-hander Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds for a four-prospect package.

Montas, who is not eligible for free agency until after the 2023 season, has shown flashes of excellence since signing with Boston in 2009. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers before moving to Oakland, where he blossomed over the past six seasons into the pitcher who this season has 104⅔ innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 109 strikeouts, 28 walks and a dozen home runs allowed.

“His level of talent, especially with how he’s pitched the last couple years, just excited to get him in the mix,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s got the full arsenal and stuff you look for top of the rotation guy. Gone out and proved last couple years he is that kind of caliber pitcher.”

A shoulder injury sidelined Montas for a mid-July start, but he returned with three shutout innings, followed by a five-inning, two-earned-run start against Houston. That was enough of a sample to draw a broad range of teams — large-market and small.

”I think we’re comfortable with where he’s at shoulder-wise,” Boone said.

Montas joins a rotation headed by MLB All-Stars Gerrit Cole (9-3, 3.30 ERA) and Nestor Cortes (9-3, 2.53 ERA) that has faltered of late.

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is 0-2 with a 5.36 ERA in his last eight starts and right-hander Jameson Taillon is 1-1 with a 5.04 ERA in his last five. Luis Severino has not pitched since July 13 because of a lat strain and was moved to the 60-day injured list Monday along with right-handed reliever Miguel Castro, out since July 10 with a strained right shoulder.

Going into Monday night’s series opener against Seattle, Domingo German had an 8.22 ERA in his first two starts after recovering from a right shoulder impingement.

By winning the Montas sweepstakes, the Yankees add a starter who will slot into a playoff rotation with a fastball-slider-splitter pitch mix that has proved effective all season. Montas went at least five innings in 15 of his first 16 starts, with the only exception being a game in which he got hit in the hand on a comebacker and left the game after 1⅔ innings.

Trivino, a 30-year-old right-hander, is 1-6 with a 6.47 ERA — double his 2021 figure — and 10 saves in 13 chances. Right-handed batters are hitting .289 against him this year while lefties are hitting .392 with nine walks in 60 plate appearances.

“Little bit down year statistically but we don’t think it lines up with what we’re seeing on some underlying things and who we think he is,” Boone said. “He’s been a very good reliever for them on some playoff-caliber teams.”

Trivino joins one of the better bullpens in the majors, but one that has struggled with injuries of late. Chad Green, Michael King and Zack Britton are all on the 60-day injured list with Green and King expected to miss the rest of the season.

Waldichuk, who is pitching at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, is 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA overall in 17 starts for two clubs in the Yankees’ minor league system this season and has 116 strikeouts in 76⅓ innings.

Sears, 26, is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings for the Yankees in the majors this season and is 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings in Triple-A. Medina, 23, is 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 17 starts for Double-A Somerset this season.

Bowman, 22, is hitting .217 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs for Class-A Hudson Valley this season.

The Yankees also optioned right-hander Clarke Schmidt to Scranton and promoted right-hander Carlos Espinal from the RailRiders.

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