The Cincinnati Reds reportedly agreed to a contract with veteran third baseman Jeimer Candelario in free agency on Thursday. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Candelario and the Reds came to terms on a three-year, $45 million deal, continuing what has been a busy offseason for the organization. After previous stints with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, Candelario split last season between the Washington Nationals and Cubs, slashing .251/.336/.471 with a career-high 22 home runs and 70 RBI in 140 games.
The Cincinnati Reds told future Hall of Famer Joey Votto that there would not be enough plate appearances for him in 2024 when they declined his option earlier this offseason. A quick glance at what's around the roster as infield options made that tough to swallow, but make sense - each of Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer, Jonathan India, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, and Noelvi Marte put their stamp on the team as infielders during the 2023 season, after all.
As GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez both discussed this week at MLB's Winter Meetings in Nashville, TN, there are obvious needs at both corner infield spots and in left field the club is looking to address this offseason. With Dom Smith DFA'd after a season at first in D.C., and Carter Kieboom, who got another look at third base after the club traded Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline last summer, still trying to establish himself as an everyday major leaguer, the Nationals need to address both first and third base, and a power bat in left field makes sense as well after their club struggled to hit for power in 2023.
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
41 | P | |
70 | P | |
51 | P | |
63 | P | |
77 | P | |
43 | P | |
79 | P | |
21 | P | |
65 | P | |
40 | P | |
28 | P | |
50 | P | |
49 | P | |
34 | P | |
72 | P | |
90 | P | |
39 | P | |
68 | P | |
58 | P | |
55 | P | |
48 | P |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
22 | C | |
37 | C |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
2 | SS | |
9 | 3B | |
44 | SS | |
33 | 3B | |
6 | 2B | |
16 | SS | |
9 | 2B | |
7 | 1B |
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
30 | RF | |
17 | LF | |
27 | RF | |
29 | CF | |
93 | LF | |
26 | CF | |
CF | ||
23 | LF | |
8 | LF |