3 players who could replace Nick Senzel if the Reds centerfielder lands on the IL

2. The Reds could replace Nick Senzel with Spencer Steer.

Now this would be music to Reds Country's ears. The Cincinnati faithful are waiting with bated-breath for Spencer Steer to make his major league debut. While it may happen before the end of the 2022 season, this might not be the time or place.

Steer has played quite well for the Reds Triple-A affiliate since arriving from the Minnesota Twins organization at the trade deadline. Along with Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Steve Hajjar, Steer was part of the trade that sent Tyler Mahle to Minnesota.

Steer has been on a roll at Triple-A Louisville. The 24-year-old is hitting .301/.389/.470 during his time with the Bats and has eight extra-base hits in 21 games. But, there's a catch. Steer would have to be added to the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster.

Now that's not too big of an ask, as the former third-round pick will need to be added to the 40-man roster during the offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. So the question then become, do the Cincinnati Reds really want Steer to accrue service time?

If the team views Steer as part of next year's Opening Day roster, there's little lost in adding him to the roster right now. But, if like the organization did with Nick Senzel, they prefer to preserve an extra year of service time, fans may have to wait until next May to see Spencer Steer make his major league debut.

Steer has a little less than 300 at-bats in Triple-A this season and has kept his strikeout-rate below 20% while posting a wRC+ of 122 according to FanGraphs. The Reds could certainly use that bat in their lineup and Steer has the versatility to play multiple defensive positions.