Cincinnati Reds: Jesse Winker’s season comes to a disappointing finish

Jesse Winker stood out for the Cincinnati Reds this year, but a season-ending injury diagnosed on Monday will keep Winker on the shelf until next season.

The Cincinnati Reds had a great comeback win against the Cardinals, unfortunately at the cost of Jesse Winker’s shoulder. He dove on the basepaths to avoid a line drive and ended up irritating his shoulder, which has been bothering him all season. He was out of the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday before the Reds put him on the 10-day DL Thursday.

Soon after the Reds announced his injury, they revealed that he would require surgery. He was sidelined with a right shoulder subluxation, a partial dislocation. This is an injury that has bothered him for years and it reached its breaking point.

Winker’s injury is a huge blow to the Reds offense. As of Thursday, he was second in the National League in on-base percentage, right behind Joey Votto. His average has been sitting right around .300 in the second half. He also had more walks than strikeouts, making him the first rookie since Dustin Pedroia in 2007 to achieve that.

This injury pretty much puts the nail in the coffin on Winker’s rookie of the year campaign.

After an incredible July, national baseball writers started calling Winker a rookie of the year candidate. In 16 games, he batted .442/.517/.615 with a 203 wRC+. Since the publishing of this article about his rookie season, his stats have only improved. He was able to bring himself up to .299/.405/.431 before his injury.

There’s nothing about his season so far that isn’t impressive. Being a league leader in OBP is not easy, and he was able to achieve it as a rookie. He also led rookies in walks and was the only viable candidate with more walks than strikeouts. However, missing 60 games and nearly the entire second half will defer voters when it comes to postseason awards.

The Cincinnati Reds outfield already lacks offense.

Adam Duvall and Billy Hamilton are not exactly known for their great offensive performance. They have a combined .214 average and have walked fewer times than Votto over 200 more plate appearances. Scott Schebler has also been injured, requiring the Reds to use Phil Ervin and now Mason Williams in the outfield.

With Winker out for the rest of the season, the odds of trading either Adam Duvall or Billy Hamilton are slim. Many people speculated that one of the two may be traded to clear space in the outfield.

If the team has four MLB quality outfielders, trading one and keeping the other three makes sense. That trade may have to wait until the offseason when player value drops as contending teams no longer need rentals.

Winker will certainly be missed as the Reds finish out their season. The team was heading for a .500 finish, but that seems near impossible with one of the best offensive players gone for the rest of the season.