Cincinnati Reds finally call up the “other” player in the Mat Latos deal

The Cincinnati Reds brought up the other player that they got for Mat Latos

With the regular catchers going paternity leave, the Cincinnati Reds decided to call up Chad Wallach.  On August 25 rookie catcher Stuart Turner went on the paternity leave list.  Almost as soon as Turner was back, starting catcher Tucker Barnhart went on the paternity leave list.

In response to this and the injury of Devin Mesoraco, the Reds had to put a catcher on their forty man roster from the minor leagues.  They could have gone with Joe Hudson, who they saw in spring training.  Instead, the Reds called up Chad Wallach, the other guy who came over for Mat Latos from the Miami Marlins when the Reds acquired Anthony DeSclafani.

Wallach has no hits in seven big league at-bats.  He has started two games and has two strikeouts.  His first start behind the plate came the same game as Tyler Mahle’s debut on the mound.

Wallach has made good progress.  The Marlins drafted him in the fifth round of the 2013 draft.  Just four years later, Wallach made his MLB debut.

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Chad is the son of former MLB third baseman Tim Wallach.  Tim played for the Montreal Expos, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels over 17 seasons.  He is currently a coach for the Marlins, the organization that Chad came from via the trade.

Chad Wallach got off to a hot start in the minors before joining the Cincinnati Reds

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In 2014 Wallach batted a combined .322 with an OBP of .431.  He also had a career high in walks at 62 and RBIs at 57.  He also had a career high with 108 hits leading to 54 runs scored.

In 2015 Wallach regressed to batting .246 with an OBP of .327.  He struck out a career high 77 times in 106 games.  He also had career highs in doubles at 28 and at-bats with 370.

Last season, Wallach batted .240 with a .363 OBP.  He struck out 46 times and walked 37 times.  Those numbers are almost equal.

Wallach’s defense is an interesting story too.  When he came over from the Marlins, Wallach was a catcher through and through.  He only caught in his two seasons with the Marlins’ organization.

With the Reds, he has also played a good amount of first base.  It appears that his future is as catcher, but who knows.  Wallach just got his first taste of the majors.

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Wallach appears to be in the plans for the Reds.  The Reds called him up a little early because of the paternity leaves and Mesoraco’s injury.  Now he is in play to stay up next season.