TJ Friedl to miss extended period of time following wrist fracture
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Cincinnati Reds center fielder TJ Friedl, who was the team's most indispensable and valuable two-way player in 2023, fractured his wrist and will miss an extended period of time.
Friedl said he has to let the bone heal, and he'll have his wrist reassessed in three-to-four weeks. There's no specific timeline yet on when he'll return, but Friedl said he sees the opportunity to return and help the Reds at some point this year in their chase of a playoff spot.
He broke the distal radius in his right wrist.
"Right now, the only thing I can really do is let the bone heal," Friedl said. "I'll do what I can on my end to keep the hand stable and in place and not move it around. Just let the bone heal on its own."
Without Friedl, Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said that Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild will be in the mix in center field.
The Reds enter 2024 with left-handed bullpen depth
The signing of reliever Justin Wilson to a one-year, big-league deal in recent days adds to perhaps the single greatest embarrassment of riches the Cincinnati Reds have this year that they didn’t have last year: left-handed options in the bullpen.
For significant stretches last season, Alex Young was the only lefty in the pen — and often the Reds had no lefty available in relief because of workload schedules or injuries.
But they added Sam Moll at last year’s trade deadline and this year signed Brent Suter and now Wilson.
“And they’re all different,” manager David Bell said. “With the game the way it is now, you need to be able to get left-handers and right-handers out. They all do that. So it’s a good situation.”
Reds injury news Cincinnati Reds CF TJ Friedl sprains wrist in spring training game trying for diving catch
Reds bullpen addition After a two-year absence, Reds reliever Justin Wilson is ready to pitch again
It’s especially good for a team with payoff aspirations and that will be without Young (back) for the start of the season. Moll, too, entered camp with shoulder fatigue resulting from his offseason throwing and has been on a slower buildup than most in camp; the team remains hopeful he’ll be ready for opening day.
And if Nick Martinez is ready to go and earns a spot in the rotation, it could make one of the lefty starter candidates, such as Brandon Williamson, available as another possible bullpen candidate.
Wilson last pitched in the big leagues for the Reds in 2021 and early 2022 before elbow surgery and later a lat injury wiped out much of his last two seasons.
“We know Justin really well, which is important to us,” Bell said. “We know who we’re getting, and he’s healthy. And he’s been pitching really well. I was personally really excited to be able to add him to our team.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: TJ Friedl to miss extended period of time following wrist fracture
