Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez takes some time off

Eugenio Suarez and the Cincinnati Reds welcome a new member to the family.

On September 21 Eugenio Suarez saw the birth of his child.  The Reds lost their third baseman for three games for this experience.  This was good for both Suarez and the team.

Suarez has missed a total of five games for the Reds this season.  Three of those games were this week.  Prior to leaving for family time, Suarez had only missed two games this season.

The Reds lost all three games that Suarez missed to the Saint Louis Cardinals.  It was the first time all season that Patrick Kivlehan started back to back games at his natural position.  It may be too little, too late, but it was refreshing to see.

The break allows the Reds to see other options at third.  Suarez recently began batting clean-up.  Over the three game stretch, the Reds let second baseman Scooter Gennett try it out.

Kivlehan spent 2017 playing all over the place, trying to get at-bats for the Reds.  He started hot, but slowed down as his appearances got less frequent.  He did continue to hot for power throughout the whole season.

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In a bad season it is great to see that life continues for the Reds.  Suarez can come back for a stretch drive, refreshed and focused.  More importantly, the Reds can return to planning for 2018.

While Eugenio Suarez was away taking care of his family, the Cincinnati Reds continued to focus on their young ones.

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Suarez is one of the youngest everyday players in MLB and is due for a contract extension.  The Reds, though, had other young players getting their chance lately.  With center fielder Billy Hamilton on the DL a pair of outfielders have played extra this month until his return.

Phillip Ervin and Jesse Winker have essentially been platooning.  Winker plays right, while Ervin plays center.  Scott Schebler has been bouncing back and forth.

Winker has played about twice as many MLB games as Ervin.  Ervin, though, has a higher batting average.  They both have nearly identical OBP at .367 and .366.

They have mirrored stats in many ways.  Ervin has three home runs compared to Winker’s six.  Ervin also has 11 strikeouts to Winker’s 21.

In addition to the outfielders, Keury Mella recently made his MLB debut on the mound.  He was the other guy in the MIke Leake trade for left fielder Adam Duvall.  The Reds are throwing other young pitchers out there as well.

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The Reds are finishing off a rebuild mode.  They are still adding new players to get over the hump.  Suarez and the Reds just added another member to family.