What does the future look like for Reds outfielder Nick Senzel?

Nick Senzel is one of the biggest reasons why several fans are skeptical of the Cincinnati Reds quest to rebuild the ball club from the inside out.

The former first-round pick, who could still be non-tendered later today, will be going into his fifth major league season next year. Senzel has yet to showcase any semblance of the highly-touted abilities he possesses when the Reds selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2016.

Now, not all of Senzel's failures rest completely on his shoulders. The Reds did the University of Tennessee alum a great disservice by moving him to the outfield. However, after playing in a career-high 110 games last season and still failing to produce results on the field, one has to wonder what the future holds for Senzel.

What does the future look like for Reds outfielder Nick Senzel?

Nick Senzel's future, both with the Cincinnati Reds and in Major League Baseball, is cloudy at best. If the Reds decide to designate Senzel for assignment later today, which is very unlikely by the way, another club would surely take a flier on a player with his skillset.

Senzel was taken with the second-overall pick in the draft for a reason. It's not as if Cincinnati took an enormous risk by selecting Senzel in Round 1 of the 2016 MLB Draft. Senzel was nominated for the Golden Spikes Award and received first, second, and third-team All-American honors by a wide variety of outlets.

Let's be quite frank - injuries completely derailed Nick Senzel's career. The Reds only made things worse by purposefully manipulating his service time in both 2018 and 2019. Cincinnati only made things worse by transitioning Senzel from third base, a position he'd played throughout his entire baseball career, and placing him in center field.

Senzel has eclipsed 100 games played just twice in his career and has seen his season end prematurely in three of his first four seasons in the big leagues. For his career, Senzel owns a slash line of just .240/.303/.360 and has only 20 career round trippers.

So, what does the future hold for Nick Senzel? Is he an outfielder, or do the Cincinnati Reds attempt to turn the now-27-year-old into a super utility player? Is he a platoon outfielder? With former fourth-round pick and left-handed hitting prospect Michael Siani now on the 40-man roster, perhaps the two will split time in center field next season.

The one thing Cincinnati can't do is enter the 2023 season with Senzel serving as an everyday player. While every single Reds fan wants to see Senzel succeed, the harsh reality is that he has not. You could probably take it one step further and say that he never will be.