Cincinnati Reds: Postponement of Opening Day offers silver lining

Major League Baseball made the tough decision to postpone the start of the 2020 season, however, there is a silver lining for the Cincinnati Reds.

While fans were understandably bummed by the news of Opening Day being pushed back by at least two weeks, the delay offers a silver lining to Cincinnati Reds fans. With the Major League Baseball season not starting until April 9th at the earliest, some of the Reds key players will gain some added time to fully recover from offseason surgery.

One of the biggest question marks entering the 2020 season was the health of both third baseman Eugenio Suárez and centerfielder Nick Senzel. Suárez and Senzel have both been rehabbing following offseason shoulder surgery.

Suárez injured his shoulder in a swimming pool accident and underwent surgery during late January. The initial reports suggested that Geno may have missed Opening Day, but the two-week delay may give Suárez some time to fully recover. He was slated to be the Reds designated hitter during Friday’s Cactus League game which was postponed.

Senzel suffered a torn labrum near the end of the 2019 season. Last year’s rookie had played in a few games this spring, gathering his first hit (an opposite field home run) while suiting up as the team’s designated hitter.

With the delayed opening to the 2020 season, it’ll be interesting to see how Major League Baseball deals with the loss of at least two weeks of games. Will the games be made up? Will Cincinnati’s first 11 games be cancelled all together?

The Reds are scheduled to miss a three-game set against division rival St. Louis, a six-game road trip against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as a two-game homestand against last year’s NL Wild Card team, the Milwaukee Brewers. That’s eight games against NL Central opponents and an interleague series.

As it stands now, a two-week delay to the start of the 2020 season would still offer the Cincinnati Reds a home opener, but rather than the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies would be the first opponent on the docket. That said, this delay could potentially last longer than just two weeks.

For now, the baseball world is on hold, as are other sports entities throughout the United States. Hopefully baseball returns sooner rather than later, and Reds fans can reignite the excitement they felt just a few days ago. Cincinnati is primed for a successful 2020 season.