Photo: Doug Gray
The Cincinnati Reds are calling up outfielder Michael Siani from Triple-A Louisville where he’s spent the entire season with the Bats. Mark Sheldon of Reds.com was the first to report this.
Michael Siani is getting called up because outfielder Stuart Fairchild is heading to the 7-day concussion injured list after hitting the wall hard over the weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 2023 season has been one of extremes for Michael Siani. Over the first two months of the season he hit .193/.286/.318 with 26 walks and 63 strikeouts in 50 games. Then from June 1st through August 4th he played in 46 games and hit .306/.449/.435 with 39 walks and just 33 strikeouts. He cut down his strikeout rate in a big way during that stretch.
But for as good as that run was, he’s struggled big time over the last two weeks. Since August 5th he’s played in 13 games and gone 4-41 (.098) with four walks and 14 strikeouts. Through the ups-and-downs, Siani has played in 109 games and had 456 plate appearances while hitting .226/.342/.353 with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 9 home runs, and he’s stolen 22 bases in 26 attempts. You can see all of his career stats here.
Siani has not ever been known for his bat, though. He’s always been known for his speed and his defense. As a center fielder he shows big range and a good arm. On the bases he’s stolen as many as many as 52 bases in a season (2022 when he was with both Chattanooga and Louisville).
What makes this move a bit interesting is that the Reds passed over Nick Senzel here. He has the ability to play the outfield, too, but unlike Siani he also can play some infield if the situation were to arise. The Reds front office, though, decided to go with Siani who is in the middle of a huge slump, over Senzel who was optioned back to the minors a little more than a week ago.
