The Cincinnati Reds are at an interesting point of the season. At five games under .500 and in sole possession of third-place, the Reds have outperformed expectations to this point of the season.
The beauty of this team through its first 53 games; there hasn’t been one key contributor that’s kept the team afloat. It has been a collective team effort every day from all 26 players. The grittiness never quit attitude players often speak on.
However, every team has its holes and has areas that can be improved on. The biggest buzz throughout Reds country has been the arrival of the top prospects. Matt McLain is here, but what about Elly De La Cruz or Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who are currently tearing apart Triple-A pitching?
Reds OF Wil Myers deserves to lose his roster spot, but won't.
In order for either top prospect to be called up, there needs to be room. The Cincinnati Reds have players who are candidates to get moved off the major league team. One player in particular who should lose his roster spot, but ultimately won’t is outfielder Wil Myers.
When the Reds signed Myers back in the winter months, Reds fans only hoped it would translate into a positive move. Myers is the type of player that could have been this year's Brandon Drury or Tommy Pham story.
Instead, the former AL Rookie of the Year just flat out hasn’t figured it out yet. Currently, on the Injured List, Myers has had quite a struggle hitting for the Reds. In 141 plate appearances, he has put together a slash line of .189/.257/.283 with just a 42 wRC+.
Myers, throughout his career, has had slow starts. Once the warmer months come around, usually too does his bat.
Unfortunately, Myers, outside of his two-home run game on April 15th, hasn’t shown signs of turning it around. His fielding hasn’t helped his case either. There have been multiple occasions of him losing the ball in the sky, or diving at a ball he had no business catching in the first place.
One of the better parts of this Reds team is their position flexibility. There are a handful of different options that can be used in right field. If the Cincinnati Reds are fully ready to move into the future, they should care about putting the best 26 guys on the field. Unfortunately in 2023, that does not include Wil Myers.