Brandon Drury's performance has made Donovan Solano expendable

Strange as this may sound, I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever seen Donovan Solano suit up for the Cincinnati Reds in 2022. One of the few major league signings the Cincinnati front office made this offseason, Solano was recently transferred to the 60-day IL.

Solano suffered a hamstring injury during spring training and was placed on the 10-day IL at the outset of the 2022 season. The infielder received a platelet-rich plasma injection a few weeks ago, according to MLB.com, but it seems that the treatment has not alleviated Solano's pain.

Solano's absence from the field isn't the only factor that may affect the 34-year-old's future with the Redlegs. In his stead, Brandon Drury has become one of the more prominent hitters in the Cincinnati lineup. The old adage is that you can't lose your spot due to injury, but I'm not sure that argument is going to hold water if and when Solano returns.

Reds infielder Brandon Drury has already replaced Donovan Solano.

Brandon Drury was not supposed to make the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster. The former New York Mets infielder was inked to a minor league deal late during spring training and was thought to be little more than a depth signing.

But Donovan Solano, Jose Barrero, and Max Schrock all went down with injuries before the season even got underway and David Bell needed someone to back up Kyle Farmer at shortstop. As it turned out, Drury was the Reds best option and snuck onto the team's Opening Day roster.

Drury smoked a three-run bomb over the fence during the first game of the 2022 season and helped the Cincinnati Reds defeat the defending champion Atlanta Braves on Opening Day.

Since that time, Brandon Drury has been a mainstay in the Cincinnati lineup. The 29-year-old is hitting .236/.317/.480 with a team-leading seven home runs. Drury is tied with Colin Moran and Tyler Naquin for the team lead in RBIs (22) and only Tyler Stephenson has a higher slugging percentage than the Oregon native.

Reds fans have seen Drury play second and third base as well as fill in as the team's designated hitter. Drury has also lit up left-handed pitchers to the tune of .278/.316/.528.

Brandon Drury is playing all over the infield and hitting very well against southpaws. That's exactly what the Cincinnati Reds brought in Donovan Solano to do. However, I don't see anyway, once healthy, that Solano can replace Drury in the Reds lineup.

Could we see the Cincinnati front office trade Donovan Solano before he even sets foot on the field at Great American Ball Park? First things first; Solano has to get healthy. After missing a good chunk of spring training, even if Solano returned to the field tomorrow, you have to figure he'll be out on a rehab assignment for the better part of two weeks.

With so many players readying to return from injury (Jonathan India, Jake Fraley, Jose Barrero, Max Schrock, etc.), David Bell and the Reds brass will have a lot of decisions to make in the coming weeks.