Cincinnati Reds News: Scott Schebler returns, Matt Harvey still here

Good morning Reds Country. Welcome to the day after the Cincinnati Reds decided to keep Matt Harvey. On the plus side, Scott Schebler is expected back today. Let’s check out some news and notes from your Redlegs.

The Cincinnati Reds lost a heartbreaker in extra innings yesterday afternoon after David Bote took Raisel Iglesias deep for a walk-off home run in the tenth inning. The Cubs defeated the Reds 3-2. Cincinnati will look to bounce back today and tomorrow in hopes of evening the series at two games apiece.

Schebler expected back. Finally, Scott Schebler will make his return to the Reds on Saturday at Wrigley Field. Schebler has been on the disabled list with a shoulder injury since July 18th after crashing into the right-field fence in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds are 13-20 (.393) since Schebler found his way onto the DL. Cincinnati was 22-12 (.647) in the 34 games before Schebler’s injury. That’s about the time he found himself as the club’s primary leadoff hitter.

Since his injury, the Reds have played around with Joey Votto in the No. 2 hole, Jose Peraza, and even Billy Hamilton playing the leadoff hitter. Nothing has been as successful as when Schebler was leading off for the Reds.

Whether he’s in the starting lineup on Saturday remains to be seen. Schebler’s slashing .278/.371/.470 on the season. Cincinnati is hoping to get the same kind of production from Schebler that he had before injuring his shoulder. So far this season, Schebler has 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.

Harvey is surprisingly still with the Reds. In a bit of an odd twist, Reds right-hander Matt Harvey is still with the ballclub. In fact, he pitched yesterday against the Cubs. Quite well, in fact, until the sixth inning. Harvey went 5.1, allowed only 1 run on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts.

It may come as a shock to some fans that Harvey is still on the team. Afterall, he was claimed by an unknown team, which we later found out was rumored to be the Milwaukee Brewers. This isn’t quite surprising as the Brew Crew were kicking the tires for a trade involving Harvey before the July 31st on-waiver trade deadline.

The Reds decided to hang on to Harvey, and he’ll likely finish the 2018 season in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. It’s puzzling though because all along Harvey was thought to be trade bait that could be flipped to a contender at the deadline. That never happened, and then it was assumed that the Reds would allow Harvey to leave via revocable waivers. That now has gone by the wayside.

It has to make you wonder if Harvey is in the long-term plans of the Reds. Harvey is a free agent at the end of the season, and with super-agent Scott Boras, could likely command a hefty price tag if he can show that he’s able to remain healthy for the duration of the season.