The Reds’ shortstop picture isn’t any clearer Friday, but it is certainly different.
The Reds officially traded Kyle Farmer to the Twins and acquired Kevin Newman in a trade with the Pirates.
So, who is this team’s shortstop?
“We’re going to come into camp, and like I said before, people are going to have to win jobs,” Reds general manager Nick Krall said Friday night. “I think it’s going to be a wide-open competition.”
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That competition will start with Newman, along with Jose Barrero and Matt Reynolds. Those are the three players with experience at the major-league level, and the club also added Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte to the 40-man roster earlier this week.
Both Farmer and Newman are arbitration eligible for the second time. Farmer, 32, was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $5.9 million in arbitration, and Newman, 29, is projected to earn $2.8 million.
“For us, it’s just trying to figure out how we can best utilize our money and get improvement across the board across all levels,” Krall said. “We’ve talked about this before whether it was position players or pitchers, we just need to improve. How can we best utilize that money?”
Farmer started 97 games at shortstop for the Reds in 2022, hitting .255/.315/.386, leading the team in games (145), plate appearances (583), hits (134), doubles (25), RBI (78) and total bases (203). After former top prospect Barrero was called up in August, Farmer moved over to third base.
Newman was the Pirates’ everyday shortstop from 2019 to 2021. Hamstring and groin injuries limited him to 78 games last season, and when he was activated from the injured list in July, Oneil Cruz had taken over the shortstop duties. Newman started 37 games at second base and hit .274/.316/.372 for the Pirates last season. A former first-round pick, he’s a career .260/.303/.357 hitter and was a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop in 2021.
Kevin Newman has received accolades for his fielding. (Joe Sargent / Getty Images)Newman could suffer a similar fate in Cincinnati to that which befell him in Pittsburgh: being pushed aside for a lanky, wunderkind shortstop prospect. In Pittsburgh it was the 6-foot-7 Cruz and in Cincinnati it could be the 6-foot-5 De La Cruz. De La Cruz is the Reds’ top prospect and one of the game’s top prospects, but he’s hardly alone as a potential candidate at shortstop. Four of the organization’s five top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, are shortstops. That list — De La Cruz, Marte, Edwin Arroyo and Matt McLain — doesn’t even include the 24-year-old Barrero.
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Marte, 21, and De La Cruz will be in big-league camp with the Reds this spring. McLain, 23, was in big-league camp last season and will likely be in big-league camp as well.
Newman offers versatility, like Farmer, but will likely cost half as much as the man he replaces. Newman is more of a middle-of-the-infield player, and Farmer shifted to third base.
The Reds also have a competition at third base, where Spencer Steer is also in the mix, as is Nick Senzel.
“Nick Senzel is coming back from injury, so will he be able to play some infield, some outfield, or just stay in the infield?” Krall said. “I think it gives us some flexibility to come in and have people win jobs.”
In exchange for Farmer, the Reds received right-hander Casey Legumina. Legumina, 25, was 2-6 with a 4.80 ERA between Class-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita. Legumina made 16 starts and 17 relief appearances, striking out 92 batters with 36 walks in 86.1 innings. He was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster Tuesday.
Krall said Legumina was a player they had liked before and his name had been mentioned in previous trades with the Twins over the last year. Legumina moved to the bullpen and is expected to stay in that role.
The Reds sent right-hander Dauri Moreta to Pittsburgh in exchange for Newman. Moreta, 26, appeared in 35 games for the Reds last season, going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA.
Friday was the tender deadline. The Reds agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Buck Farmer worth $1.725 million, according to a person who was not authorized to speak publicly on contract details. Outfielder Allan Credo and right-hander Daniel Duarte were not tendered contracts. Both have agreed to minor-league deals with the organization.
The Reds also signed right-handers Kevin Herget and Ben Lively to minor-league deals with invitations to big-league camp.
(Top photo of Kyle Farmer: Norm Hall / Getty Images)
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