Reds News: TJ Friedl's rehab, Matt McLain injury update, Rece Hinds' tape-measure HR

The Cincinnati Reds lost 4-of-6 on their road trip, but are headed back home for a six-game homestand beginning on Friday night. The Reds will welcome the Baltimore Orioles for three games this weekend followed by a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks before heading on a 10-game West Coast road trip to play the D-backs, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

One of the Reds biggest issues has centered around the massive number of injuries the team has incurred during the first month of the season. In addition to players like Tejay Antone and Frankie Montas, the Reds have been without Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Stephenson since Sunday. But the Redlegs got a bit of good news on the injury-front this week.

Reds News: TJ Friedl's rehab assignment

The Reds severely miss TJ Friedl's bat, glove, and leadership, but Cincinnati's centerfielder made his return to the field on Thursday night as he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville. Joining Friedl in the Derby City is left-hander Alex Young.

Friedl went 1-for-3 with a double and walk on Thursday while Young worked a scoreless seventh inning with a walk and two punch outs. It has yet to be determined when Friedl or Young will return to the active roster, but you can bet that Reds manager David Bell would love to have both players available before his team heads to San Francisco next week.

Reds News: Matt McLain injury update

The Reds have been without Matt McLain since the start of the 2024 season. The former first-round pick suffered a shoulder injury during spring training and underwent surgery a little over a week before the season began.

McLain is reportedly about a week away from from a follow-up appointment that should help to provide the Reds with a better timeline for the second baseman's return. In his stead, the Reds have used a combination of Jonathan India and Santiago Espinal at the keystone.

Reds News: OF prospect Rece Hinds blasts 4th HR of 2024

The Reds added outfielder Rece Hinds to the 40-man roster over the winter and assigned the former second-round pick to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2024 season. Hinds has arguably the most power of any prospect in the Reds' farm system, but has consistently been dogged by his high strikeout rate.

Hinds showed off the mega-power on Thursday night with a 494-foot big fly. That's 21-feet longer than Mike Trout's major league-best 473-foot bomb he hit back on April 1st. If Hinds ever figures out how to cut down on those strikeouts he'll have the opportunity to put on a show in the big leagues. As it is, Hinds has 51 strikeouts in 30 games at Triple-A this season.

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