Tag Archives: Reds

29 Mar

departures and arrivals

Chris Coghlan will get a World Series ring next month. He’s looking for a uniform to wear. The Ole Miss alum was released by Philadelphia in a bit of a surprise move on Tuesday. Trying to make the lowly Phillies as a non-roster invitee, Coghlan, 32, didn’t have a great spring (.231, five RBIs) but did offer a left-handed bat and the versatility to play several positions. Coghlan batted .250 with six homers last year, which he split between Oakland and the champion Chicago Cubs. Over an eight-year career interrupted by injuries, Coghlan batted .260 with 52 homers. He hit .321 with Florida in 2009 when he won rookie of the year honors but never came close to that figure again. … Catching up on other roster news: Former Rebels star Stuart Turner apparently will make Cincinnati’s big club as a backup catcher, and lefty Cody Reed out of Northwest Mississippi Community College is going to stick in the Reds’ bullpen. However, Greenwood native Louis Coleman, a relief pitcher, was sent to the minor league camp, as was ex-Itawamba CC star Desmond Jennings, who reportedly can choose to be a free agent. … JaCoby Jones – who, it should be noted, did play a little football at Richton High – appears to have won Detroit’s center field job after batting .333 this spring. He debuted with the Tigers last summer. Former Ole Miss standout Alex Presley, despite batting .452 in a bid to win an outfield spot, was sent down by the Tigers. … Ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Holder, who made his MLB debut last summer, appears to have claimed a job in the New York Yankees’ bullpen. He has had a strong spring (3.00 ERA). … MSU product Chad Girodo was sent out by Toronto. The lefty had a 2.08 ERA this spring after posting a 4.35 as a rookie last season.

28 Mar

wrong turn

Well, that could’ve gone better. Cody Reed, the former Horn Lake High and Northwest Mississippi Community College star, gave up 10 hits, four walks, an HBP and 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings for Cincinnati vs. San Francisco on Monday. The left-hander is vying for a spot in the Reds’ rotation and had pitched fairly well before Monday’s outing, which jacked his Cactus League ERA to 7.08. Reed had a tough rookie season with the Reds in 2016, going 0-7, 7.36 in 10 starts, but is considered one of the club’s better pitching prospects. He had strong minor league numbers (3.66 ERA) coming up first in the Kansas City system and then with the Reds after a 2015 trade. Reed was a second-round draft pick by the Royals in 2013 out of NWCC. … Ole Miss alum Stuart Turner homered for the Reds in Monday’s loss; he is hoping to make the roster as a backup catcher (see previous posts). Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings, a non-roster invitee, went 0-for-2 to drop his spring average to .195. P.S. Ex-Gulf Coast CC star Tony Sipp, who has been bothered by a stiff back, threw 28 pitches to three batters for Houston on Monday, yielding a hit and a walk with one strikeout. The only lefty expected to make the Astros’ bullpen, Sipp has a 5.06 ERA this spring and is coming off a down year. Still, he told mlb.com, “I feel like I’m ready for the season.” … St. Louis optioned ex-UM standout Mike Mayers to Triple-A. The lefty, who got knocked around a bit in his MLB debut last season, posted a 1.64 ERA over 11 innings in the Grapefruit League. He’ll be back.

24 Mar

honor among thieves

The major league single-season stolen base record has stood at 130 since 1982. No one has gotten within 20 bags of that mark in the 35 years since. Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, could get there. Who says? No less an authority than the player who holds the record: Rickey Henderson. In a recent interview with csnbayarea.com, the Hall of Famer had a lot of good things to say about Hamilton and his base-stealing philosophy, which Henderson said reminded him of his own: “I’m gonna run until you throw me out. And if you throw me out, I’m gonna get back up and run again.” Over his 25 years, Henderson’s steal success rate was 81 percent. Over his three-plus years, Hamilton is at 82 percent. They are master thieves. Of course, the big thing for Hamilton, as Henderson acknowledged, is getting on base enough to make it all work. Henderson had an on-base percentage of .398 in 1982, when he got his 130. Hamilton stole 58 bags for Cincinnati last season in just 119 games. His OBP was a rather pedestrian .321, his batting average, even after a strong second half, a lackluster .260. There are some who think Hamilton just isn’t going to hit enough to remain a regular, his defensive skill as a center fielder notwithstanding. After an injury-curtailed 2016 season, Hamilton hasn’t had an inspiring spring. He returned to the Reds’ lineup Thursday from several days off (sore Achilles’) and took an 0-for-3 as the DH. He is batting .211 (.268 OBP, 12 strikeouts in 38 at-bats) in 14 games. When the games start to count, he’ll need to step it up. Yes, a lot. While it’s true that the stolen base has been marginalized by a variety of factors in recent years, Hamilton — who swiped 155 bags in the minors in 2012 — has shown that it can still be a weapon. When he’s on base, you’re compelled to watch. Imagine what a thrill it would be to watch him make a run at Henderson’s record.

16 Mar

spotlight on …

In Goodyear, Ariz., Cincinnati and San Diego hooked up in a wild Cactus League game on Wednesday that saw several Mississippians make an imprint. For the Padres, former Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe hit his first homer of the spring, a two-run shot in the first inning against Northwest Mississippi Community College alum Cody Reed. Renfroe, expected to be the Padres’ opening day right fielder, is hitting .278 this spring. Lefty Reed, battling for a job on the Reds’ staff, went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, a walk and three runs while punching out seven. His CL ERA is now 4.91. The Reds rallied to win the game 8-7 as Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Stuart Turner chipped in with noteworthy contributions. Taylorsville’s Hamilton, batting just .233 this spring, went 3-for-3, stole two bases, scored a run and drove in one. Ole Miss product Cozart, a .360 hitter, went 2-for-3 with his first CL homer, and ex-Rebels star Stuart Turner, in camp as a Rule 5 draftee, boosted his average to .450 with a pair of hits. P.S. Greenwood native Louis Coleman, yet another Mississippian with the Reds, made his spring debut on Tuesday and threw a clean inning. He had been shelved by a minor arm problem.

19 Feb

the cincy six

There are six Mississippians bopping around Cincinnati’s camp in Goodyear, Ariz. Billy Hamilton might be the only one who breaks camp with the big league team. Though he still hasn’t hit as much as the Reds would like (.260 in 2016, .249 career), former Taylorsville High star Hamilton is their center fielder, bringing plus speed and defense to the job. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart is the Cincy shortstop – but for how long? Trade rumors have circled Cozart for a while and now that he is in his last season before free agency, they’ve only intensified. Cozart, 31, bounced back from a bad knee injury in 2015 to bat .252 with 16 home runs last year, though knee pain curtailed his season. He says he feels 100 percent now and is happy to be with the Reds. But, it’s not an ideal situation. He could be dealt at any time. “You’re in limbo,” he told cincinnati.com. “That’s the tough part about it.” Stuart Turner, another ex-UM star, is also in a sort of limbo. He is in camp as a Rule 5 pick and is battling for a job as the backup catcher. If he doesn’t get that spot, he’ll likely be returned to Minnesota. Left-hander Cody Reed, a highly rated prospect out of Northwest Mississippi Community College who had rough MLB debut in 2016, will contend for a job on the pitching staff but may well wind up back in the minors. Greenwood native Louis Coleman is in the Reds’ camp as a non-roster pitcher, former Itawamba CC star Desmond Jennings as a non-roster outfielder. Both veterans face seemingly long odds to make the 25-man roster out of spring training.

03 Feb

something different

This season probably won’t be as much fun as 2016 was for Chris Coghlan. The former Ole Miss standout, who won a World Series ring with the Chicago Cubs, has signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia, which went 71-91 in 2016 and doesn’t figure to be any better this year. Coghlan, 31, who hit .252 for the Cubs (after a .146 start to the season in Oakland), reportedly has a chance to make the Phillies’ roster this spring as a utility player. A left-handed hitter, he started at five different positions last year, though he is primarily an outfielder. … The crowd of Mississippians in the Cincinnati fold got a little bigger with the addition of Desmond Jennings, the Itawamba Community College product. The 30-year-old outfielder, released last summer by Tampa Bay, has signed a minor league contract with a spring invite. He joins Zack Cozart, Billy Hamilton, Cody Reed, Stuart Turner and Louis Coleman on the Reds’ spring roster. Jennings, a .245 hitter in a career spent entirely with the Rays, has battled injuries the last couple of seasons and might have a hard time earning a spot in Cincy’s outfield.

10 Jan

what’s happening

Louis Coleman is off the market, having signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati. The Greenwood native and ex-Pillow Academy star will contend for a bullpen job with the Reds in spring training. Coleman posted a 4.69 ERA in 61 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 but was non-tendered last fall. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 3.51 career ERA in 213 MLB games, having begun his career with Kansas City. … Incidentally, the Reds are slated to have five Mississippians in spring camp: Zack Cozart (Ole Miss), Billy Hamilton (Taylorsville), Cody Reed (Northwest Mississippi Community College), Stuart Turner (Ole Miss) and Coleman. Turner was a Rule 5 pick from Minnesota. … Former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout Cody Satterwhite, who finished his 2016 campaign in Japan, signed as a minor leaguer with Baltimore. Satterwhite, 29, had a 1.80 ERA in 18 games in Triple-A for the Los Angeles Angels before going to Japan. A second-round pick by Detroit in 2008, he has also pitched in the New York Mets’ system but hasn’t made The Show in an injury-dampened career. … From the rumor mill: Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier might be staying in Minnesota; reports are the trade talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers have cooled. UM product Chris Coghlan, fresh off winning the World Series, may be on Philadelphia’s radar; the Phillies are seeking a left-handed bat. … Toronto prospect Anthony Alford, Mr. Baseball and Mr. Football his senior year at Petal High, lost many of his trophies and other memorabilia in a Dec. 28 fire that destroyed his childhood home in Columbia. No one was injured in the blaze, though Alford’s father, mother and sister, who lived in the home, reportedly lost most of their belongings. Alford now lives in Sumrall with his wife, Bailey. … Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum, the 2016 SEC freshman of the year, is ranked 29th in Baseball America’s list of the Top 100 college draft prospects for 2017. The Jackson Prep product, a switch-hitting outfielder who turns 21 in March, batted .408 last year.

02 Oct

crash landings

For the second straight year, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart saw a strong season curtailed by physical woes. Cozart, Cincinnati’s shortstop, missed the last 3 1/2 months of 2015 after a knee injury that required surgery, then went down again this year in early September because of recurring pain in that knee. Cozart, who last played on Sept. 10, hit .252 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs in 120 games. He played only 53 games last year, batting .258 with nine homers. He looked better than ever this April, hitting .361 at month’s end, and was at .303 on June 8 before starting to fade. He had 15 homers on July 18, one thereafter. Cozart, eligible for arbitration again this year, was the subject of trade rumors before and during the season. He might have played his final game for the Reds. … Aaron Barrett, another Ole Miss product, also had a rough year. Barrett, a Washington Nationals reliever, had Tommy John surgery last September and was making progress toward a possible return in late July when he suffered a fractured elbow. “It was traumatizing. It was like someone hit me in the gut, like, a million times,” Barrett told mlb.com in August. “But … I have a bionic arm now, and I’m literally going to come back stronger than ever.” … Former Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings battled injuries – again – in 2016 with Tampa Bay and wound up being released on Aug. 26. The toolsy Jennings was batting .200 with seven homers. A Tampa Tribune writer called Jennings’ potential “fool’s gold.” He remains unsigned, as does Jonathan Papelbon, who was released, per mutual agreement, by Washington on Aug. 13. Mississippi State product Papelbon had a 4.37 ERA at the time and had lost his closer’s job after a series of shaky outings. P.S. Jackson’s Seth Smith went 0-for-2 with a run in a wild and crazy game in Seattle on Saturday that the Mariners lost to Oakland 9-8 in 10 innings. The defeat eliminated Seattle from postseason contention, extending their drought to 15 years.

29 Sep

missing pieces

After stumbling on Wednesday night against lowly Cincinnati, the St. Louis Cardinals need a bounce-back game tonight against the Reds at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals (82-76) are third in the National League wild card standings, trailing second-place San Francisco by a game with four to play. St. Louis is trying to keep its streak of five straight postseason appearances alive. From a Mississippi perspective, this game is significant for the people who aren’t playing. The Reds, winding down a tough season, are without Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Cody Reed – all on the disabled list. Jeff Brantley is healthy, but the ex-Mississippi State star – who pitched for both the Reds and Cards in his MLB career – will be in the Cincinnati broadcast booth. Chris Maloney, another MSU alum, will suit up for St. Louis – but he’ll be in the third-base coach’s box. The Cardinals don’t have ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn, who had been a horse in their rotation for the last several years before Tommy John surgery put him out for 2016. The Cardinals do have another UM product, Mike Mayers, but the rookie reliever hasn’t been very effective in his four appearances (27.00 ERA). Perhaps he’s due for a shining moment.

25 Sep

highs and lows

It was a day of firsts for Hunter Renfroe. The former Mississippi State standout, batting cleanup for San Diego for the first time on Saturday, hit his first MLB home run and his first double. Renfroe’s memorable homer, in his fourth game, came against San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner, no less, a solo shot off a 93-mph fastball on a 1-2 pitch. Renfroe, playing right field, also committed his first error, though it was inconsequential in the Padres’ loss. … Billy Hamilton has been knocked from his perch atop the MLB stolen base leaders. While the Taylorsville High product has been idled by injury, Milwaukee’s Jonathan Villar has caught and passed him. Villar got his 59th bag on Saturday. Hamilton, out for the season (oblique injury) in Cincinnati, will finish with 58, a career-high. He got 57 last year and 56 in 2014. … Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson continues to rake for Tampa Bay, the one American League East team with no postseason shot. Dickerson, in his first year with the Rays, is batting .386 over his last 15 games with five homers, 10 RBIs and seven runs. With 23 homers on the season, he is one shy of his career-best, set two years ago in Colorado. His 36 doubles are already a best.