SAN FRANCISCO -- The Reds started off on the wrong foot right from the first pitch of Sunday's series finale at Oracle Park. Leadoff hitter TJ Friedl stepped into the box against Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison and immediately took a 90.6 mph four-seamer off his left thumb. Friedl doubled over

This story was excerpted from the Reds Beat newsletter, with MLB.com reporter Sonja Chen contributing the opening item. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

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Break out the caps and gowns. It’s time for a whole bunch of graduations and an updated Top 100 Prospects list. Young players who began the 2024 season on a Major League Opening Day roster with zero MLB service time exhausted their prospect status Sunday by way of the 45-day

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nick Lodolo felt like he was a pitch away from getting out of the first inning of Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Giants. With two outs in the opening frame, the Reds southpaw had given up two singles and a walk to load the bases for Giants

Travis Bazzana keeps rewriting the Oregon State record books. MLB Pipeline's No. 2 Draft prospect already claimed the program’s all-time and single-season home run records this season. Now he has set another major school mark. Bazzana became OSU’s all-time hits leader on Sunday, setting the school record with a run-scoring

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mired in an eight-game skid and a team-wide slump at the plate, the Reds badly needed a jolt of energy as they headed on the road to kick off a three-city, 10-game West Coast road trip. Stuart Fairchild may have given his team just what the doctor

CINCINNATI -- Poor baserunning and a "sluggish" starting pitcher. This was part of the recipe that doomed the Reds to their eighth consecutive defeat in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati hadn't been swept in a homestand of at least six games since June

The top prospect in the 2024 Draft has solidified his status as the premier power in college baseball's bat-ball coefficient of restitution era. Georgia slugger Charlie Condon launched his 34th home run of the season in Thursday's 14-10 win over South Carolina, which marked the highest single-season total since the

CINCINNATI -- One run isn't a commanding advantage, but the Reds had a lead for the first time in a full week -- or 43 innings -- during the second inning on Wednesday vs. the Diamondbacks. But it proved to be ever-so fleeting. Graham Ashcraft couldn't hold on to it

CINCINNATI -- It turns out that Christian Encarnacion-Strand has a fractured hand after all. The Reds first baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday and the club brought back veteran first baseman Mike Ford on a one-year, $1.3 million contract to take his place. Encarnacion-Strand was hit

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. CINCINNATI -- Tuesday marked Reds starting pitcher Frankie Montas’ return from the injured list. He immediately became part of the collateral damage created by

CINCINNATI -- When TJ Friedl was activated from the injured list on Tuesday, it happened when the Reds needed their center fielder and leadoff hitter the most. The Reds have struggled because their sagging offense hasn't produced. As much as they wanted Friedl back from a fractured right wrist, they

Big league closers can come from all areas of the pitching world. Some are guys who have always been relievers, from college all the way up to the big leagues. Some were starters whose power stuff (and perhaps lack of command) were better suited for shorter stints coming out of

After a multi-season hiatus, Crooked Numbers returns with a heaping portion of Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. This edition, covering the start of the season through the end of April, has a disproportionate number of items from the Triple-A level. As for why that is, who knows? Maybe

CINCINNATI -- Allowing three runs in the first inning usually doesn't spell doom for a pitcher or a team, as there should be plenty of time and space to settle in and expect a comeback. For the "Rally Reds" of 2023, that was rarely a concern. But the way things

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Travis Bazzana's power bat seemingly never takes a break -- even in the rare Monday college baseball game. Just one day after going deep three times and setting Oregon State's single-season home run record, the No. 2 Draft prospect knocked another two homers in the Beavers’ 20-12 win over Gonzaga.

CINCINNATI -- The last time the Reds experienced this, Elly De La Cruz had only been in the Majors for just over a week. Christian Encarnacion-Strand has never known it during his young big league career. The Reds are waking up on Sunday as a sub-.500 team. With a 2-1

CINCINNATI -- Hunter Greene became the latest victim of Cincinnati’s slumping offense on Friday night. For the second time this season, the Reds were held hitless outside Elly De La Cruz, going a woeful 2-for-29 in a 3-0 loss to Baltimore after a two-hour, 41-minute rain delay. De La Cruz

One year after the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player in MLB history to produce 40-plus homers and 70-plus steals in a season, the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz is threatening to form a club of his own: the 40-90 Club. Cincinnati’s budding superstar is off to a

Pitchers are meant to be ahead of hitters. Sluggers need at-bats to get into the rhythm of the season, and that takes time. Or at least that’s how the popular belief goes. But some Minor League hitters are proving they don’t need time at all to come flying out of

SAN DIEGO -- Stuart Fairchild is making a habit of jaw-dropping catches. His first victim of the season was Willy Adames. The second was his college buddy. His latest? Padres star Manny Machado, and this robbery snatched away a home run that looked eerily similar to a famous one you