3 players Elly De La Cruz could replace on the Reds roster

3. Elly De La Cruz could replace Stuart Fairchild on the Reds roster.

With Henry Ramos on the IL, Stuart Fairchild has received a few more starts in recent days. But the Cincinnati Reds outfielder fits the mold of a platoon outfielder moreso than an everyday player.

Fairchild's numbers on the season are not too bad for a part-time player. The 27-year-old owns a .232/.328/.364 with a 10-percent walk-rate. The batting average and on-base percentage are eerily similar to what Fairchild put up during his brief stay with the big league club at the end of last season, but the power numbers are down significantly.

Optioning Fairchild to Triple-A would give the young outfielder regular at-bats and clear the way for Jose Barrero and Nick Senzel to split time in the outfield, esspeically when a left-handed pitcher on the mound.

Fairchild sees a nice uptick in his batting average (.260) when a southpaw is in the game, but it's nowhere near Senzel's (.472). Barrero actually has reverse splits and hits better when facing right-handed pitching.

Sending Stuart Fairchild may be a bit unpopular, but it would strengthen the Cincinnati Reds bench. If Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain are expected to see time on the left side of the infield, Nick Senzel will need to play somewhere, and that's likely to be in the outfield. More specifically, Senzel will be in the outfield against left-handed pitchers. That's been the role Fairchild has filled all season.