After the good news that Hunter Greene is back on the mound and working his way back from a shoulder strain, bad news came out that starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft is heading to the 15-day injured list with right biceps soreness. That move is retroactive to Saturday. He’s not the only player heading to the injured list, either. Utility man Matt Reynolds is also hitting the 10-day injured list as he deals with left hip pain. Reynolds move is retroactive to Monday.
The team also optioned catcher Michael Papierski to Triple-A Louisville. With three roster spots opened up, Cincinnati is calling up pitcher T.J. Zeuch, catcher Chuckie Robinson, and outfielder Stuart Fairchild.
For Graham Ashcraft the injury couldn’t come at a worse time. The big right-handed starter has been having an outstanding month of August, posting a 2.33 ERA in his four starts while holding opponents to a .611 OPS in 110 plate appearances. With his move being retroactive to Saturday the earliest he would be eligible to return would be on September 4th. That’s a Sunday afternoon game against the Rockies. The game after that would be on September 6th against the Cubs. At this point we don’t know if the stay will be short for Ashcraft or not.
Matt Reynolds hasn’t played in a few days because of the hip issue.After a good July where he hit .317/.391/.366 he’s been in a slump during August, hitting just .138/.194/.172 in 10 games played. His move was retroactive to Monday and he will be eligible to return September 1st, but that’s an off day for the team. They will begin a series at home on the 2nd against the Rockies.
T.J. Zeuch returns to the big league club after being optioned to the minors last week. He never made an appearance for Triple-A Louisville during his time in the minors and since he’s replacing an injured player he didn’t have to remain in the minors for 10 days before coming back. In two starts with Cincinnati over the last two weeks he struggled, giving up 12 runs in 8.0 innings on 17 hits, three walks, and two hit batters.
Chuckie Robinson has spent one day in the big leagues in his career and it came as the 27th player for the Field of Dreams game earlier this month. He’s coming back now and whenever he gets into a game it will be his big league debut. In the minors this season he’s split time between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, hitting .266/.320/.399 in 58 games.
Stuart Fairchild has been up-and-down a few times this year with several teams. He’s played with the Mariners, Giants, and Reds in the big leagues this season but picked up just 25 plate appearances in those 13 games. He’s gone 2-22 with 2 walks and he’s been hit by a pitch. In 34 games with Louisville he’s hit .273/.338/.512.
Michael Papierski is heading to the minors after having struggles in the big leagues. In 34 games with the Reds he’s hit .159/.242/.207 and he’s had struggles in helping control the running game.
