Cincinnati Reds: Moving Nick Senzel to the outfield is the right move

The Cincinnati Reds top prospect appears to be moving to the outfield. Nick Senzel is listed as an outfielder on the Reds Instructional League roster.

Nick Senzel, the top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization, should be up with the big league club right now. However, a hand injury forced Senzel to miss the remainder of the regular season. The Reds released their Instructional League roster today, and Senzel is not listed in his traditional infield spot. Instead, the No. 4 overall prospect in MLB finds himself listed as an outfielder.

Senzel’s apparent move to the outfield may answer the question that fans and experts have been pondering since the beginning of the season; where will Senzel play once he’s promoted to the Major Leagues?

Originally drafted as a third baseman, Senzel has spent most of his minor league career at both second and third base. There’s just one problem. Make that two. Both Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett occupy those spots on the roster, and after each went to this year’s All-Star Game, it’s hard to see Cincinnati moving on from either.

Gennett has one year of arbitration eligibility left and he’ll be due a hefty raise in the offseason. It appears, however, that the Cincinnati Reds brass has talked and they’re willing to sit down with Gennett this winter to discuss a long-term contract.

Suarez, Cincinnati’s leader in home runs and RBIs, was just signed last offseason to a 7-year, $66-million deal. Barring an unlikely trade, Geno is staying put for the foreseeable future.

There were some who speculated that Suarez could move to shortstop and allow Senzel to take over at his natural spot at the hot corner. The problem with that thought is the idea of benching Jose Peraza, who’s having a breakout season at shortstop.

That left the Cincinnati Reds with one alternative if they wanted to get Nick Senzel’s bat into the lineup, and that was a move to the outfield. It appears, based on the Reds Instructional League roster, that they’re trying just that.

Now, where would Senzel play in the outfield and who would be benched in favor of the young prodigy? With Jesse Winker slated to return in 2019, the right field spot seems all but spoken for. Winker was in line for Rookie of the Year discussion had he not had his season ended by a shoulder injury.

That leaves left field and center field as possible playing destinations for Senzel. Common sense would argue that moving Scott Schebler to center field, a position he’s played 16 times this season.

Schebler has primarly played right field this season and was part of the four-man outfield rotation earlier this season. He, along with Phillip Ervin and Billy Hamilton have received the bulk of playing time in the outfield down the stretch.

That scenario would bump Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati’s worst hitter to the bench. Billy is in the final year of arbitration, and while his speed and glove are incredibly valuable, his poor plate performance kind of cancel those abilities out.

There’s no telling what position Nick Senzel will play in 2019. In fact, I would argue to avoid limiting him to just one spot on the field. One thing is for sure though, the Cincinnati Reds’ offense will look much better with Senzel in the lineup, regardless of where he lines up on the diamond.