Cincinnati Reds: Sad ending as Derek Dietrich will likely reject assignment

Derek Dietrich was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville by the Cincinnati Reds. This is a sad ending, as Dietz will likely reject the assignment.

There’s no official word from Derek Dietrich‘s camp as of yet, but after the Cincinnati Reds slugger was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville, it’s assumed that he’ll reject the assignment and become a free agent. Dietrich’s ascension to stardom was rapid, and his fall from grace was just as quick. I, for one, will remember the good moments, not the agonizing slump to end the 2019 season.

Derek Dietrich burst onto the scene on Opening Day. After making the 25-man roster out of spring training following a minor league deal he signed in the offseason, Dietrich made his presence felt right away with a three-run shot to right field that gave the Reds 5-2 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cincinnati would go on to win that Opening Day contest against the Buccos.

Dietrich found favor with David Bell after putting together some solid numbers at the dish through the first month of the season. By the end of April, Dietrich had an OPS of .860, 5 home runs and 14 RBIs.

As good as the month of April was for Dietrich, the month of May was even better. Double-D put on a clinic, slashing .304/.400/.841 with 12 home runs and 22 RBIs. Dietrich started 19 games that month and was treated like royalty throughout the city of Cincinnati.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and for Derek Dietrich, they came to an end very, very rapidly. After his three-homer game against the Pirates on May 28th, Dietrich went into a slump that we’ve rarely seen in the sport. Dietrich ended the 2019 going 17-for-133 (.128) over the final four months of the season.

During that stretch, Dietrich had the same number of hits (17) as he did hit by pitches. He had just two homers and eight RBIs the remainder of the season, spent almost a month on the injured list with a bum shoulder, and retuned to the IL near the end of the season with a similar injury.

Dietrich final slash line for the 2019 season was .187/.328/.462. The left-handed slugger finished with 19 home runs and 43 RBIs. Dietrich still finished in the Top 5 on the team for OPS (.790) among player who had at least 200 at-bats.

There’s still a chance that Dietrich could accept the assignment to Louisville, but after the monster power numbers that he put up early in the season, I’d imagine he’d like to see if he can snag a contract on the open market. The Cincinnati Reds also outright pitchers Keury Mella and Jackson Stephens, as well as infielder Christian Cólon.