Reds: Aristides Aquino’s stats since Player of the Month honors are awful

It pains me to write this, but it’s time for the Cincinnati Reds and Aristides Aquino to part ways. The Punisher was a burgeoning star in 2019, but over the last two years, Aquino has fallen woefully short of expectations and is just occupying a roster spot.

After trading Yasiel Puig to the Cleveland Indians in 2019, the Reds called Aquino up to the big leagues. Aquino took the baseball world by storm. The right-handed hitting slugger obliterated nearly every ball that he saw.

Aquino slashed .320/.391/.767, smacked 14 home runs, and racked up 33 RBIs during his first month in The Show. The Punisher took home Player of the Month honors in August of 2019. But since then, it’s been all downhill.

The Reds need to designate Aristides Aquino for assignment.

Let’s look at that slash line one more time. In 115 plate appearances in August of 2019, Aristides Aquino hit .320/.391/.767 with 14 homers, 33 RBIs, 185 wRC+, and a strikeout-rate of 22.6%. Since September 1, 2019, Aquino has hit .183/.271/.384 with 15 home runs, 39 RBIs, 69 wRC+, and a 34% strikeout-rate in 329 plate appearances.

His batting average has dropped 137 points and his OPS has fallen from 1.158 to .655. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. Not to mention, Aquino was hitting in the middle of the batting order back in August 2019. Of late, we’ve typically seen The Punisher occupying the No. 7 or even No. 8 spot in the batting order.

There’s also not a huge difference in Aquino’s lefty/ righty splits. For his career, Aquino owns an OPS of .787 versus right-handed pitchers and .778 versus left-handed pitchers. We’ve seen a bit more disparity this season, with Aquino hitting .173/.272/.395 against right-handers and .186/.296/.424 versus southpaws.

Quite frankly, these numbers are staggering, and Aristides Aquino has no business on a major league diamond while the Cincinnati Reds are in the midst of a playoff chase. The same can be said for the likes of Shogo Akiyama and even Eugenio Suárez.

David Bell needs to put his best players in the lineup, and until Jesse Winker returns from the IL, Max Schrock should be getting every start in left field. The Cincinnati Reds did just swing a trade for the right-handed hitting Delino DeShields. Perhaps he’ll join his father on the field sooner rather than later. DeShields is currently at Triple-A Louisville.