Cincinnati Reds: 3 players most affected if universal DH is eliminated

3. Aristides Aquino, Reds outfielder

What does the future hold for Aristides Aquino? I haven’t the slightest clue. In August of 2019, The Punisher looked like he was on his way to Cooperstown, but a severe slump in September followed by a poor showing in the Dominican Winter League and spring training put Aquino’s future in doubt. The signing of Nick Castellanos surely did not help his standing as an everyday player.

After bursting onto the scene and earning Players of the Month honors in August of 2019, not much has gone Aquino’s way. There’s still plenty of pop in The Punisher’s bat, but a .623 OPS is no way to earn a prominent role heading into 2021.

I’m a fan of Aristides Aquino, but let’s be real, he was in the Cincinnati Reds organization for eight seasons before making his mark in the bigs. Aquino was non-tendered in 2018, but re-signed with the club a few days later. Is Aquino the player we saw in 2019 or was that an anomaly?

According to FanGraphs, Aristides Aquino owned a 32.1% strikeout-rate in 2020 which is the highest of his career. He was able, however, to gain a 10.7% walk-rate which is a career best. So where does Aquino go from here?

If Nick Castellanos stays with the Reds next season, he’s got right field on lockdown. That leaves the group of Aquino, Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama and Jesse Winker battling for playing time in center and left field. I don’t like Aquino’s chances if that group remains intact.

I have a hard time seeing the Cincinnati Reds non-tendering Aquino, however, he’s out of minor league options, so sending the slugger back to Triple-A exposes him to waivers and you’d have to expect another team to take a chance on him. Eliminating the universal DH could causes a lot of headaches for the Reds front office this winter.