Cincinnati Reds links – Austin Romine signed, Braves extend Sean Murphy

The title here does a very poor job of framing the most important fluidity of this Reposter, and for that I apologize. We’re going to talk a little bit about Major League Baseball catchers here, however the top ranked player in that title here didn’t even get an MLB deal.

That would be Austin Romine, who you may remember from tipsters like The 2022 Cincinnati Reds try to win one baseball game a week. As one of a litany of backup catchers filling in for Tyler Stephenson in very limited capacity after his injuries last year, Romine posted a .437 OPS in 99 PA, but did so with a strong reputation as a receiver behind the plate. That representative was good enough for Reds to re-sign him to a minor league dealand he will serve as depth behind Stephenson, Curt Casali and Luke Maile, all of whom are on major league deals.

That announcement buried the signing of RHP Alan Busenitz, who is notable for returning to pro ball in the states after a pretty good relief run in Japan. He posted a 2.14 ERA in 33.2 IP for the Rakuten Golden Eagles last season while teaming with former big leaguers Masahiro Tanaka and the wonderfully named José Marmolejos.

Still, Sean Murphy is the catcher here worth talking about, even though he’s by no means a Cincinnati Red. The former Oakland star did The latest Atlanta Brave to receive a contract extension while still early in his team control, signing a deal that will earn him $73 million over the next six seasons. Murphy is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and owns a career 114 OPS+, and that’s important for our tastes because Stephenson — who’s still a year away from arbitration eligibility — is so similar to a career OPS+ of 115. Murphy’s durability is a plus in his total cap here, as he has nearly doubled Ty Steves’ career PA, but a full season of work in 2023 would put Tyler at about the same career workload as Murphy, who is almost two years older. . The Reds obviously haven’t shown they’re going to spend money investing in their current crop of good players, but for anyone hoping and praying they do that with Tyler, it serves as a pretty interesting benchmark for what a agreement. can close it.

At Reds.com, Mark Sheldon looks at the questions facing the Reds in 2023. One that Mark doesn’t mention (that I’d really like to ask him again) is Will 2024 be when the Reds try to win Major League Baseball games again, or a date even further down the road? Christ in a cracker was 1995 a long time ago.

Here’s a great note about Reds infielder Spencer Steer from Twitter friend Reds Fan Brandon:

Steer has a lot of unleaded Todd Frazier vibes, in my eye, though it would be great if he showed up as the fully led version as early as 2023. He’ll certainly get the chance, that’s for sure. and is doing well LHP is a good way to start.

Over at ESPN.com, Bradford Doolittle ranked all 30 MLB teams in this moment of free agent frenzy, and let me tell you, the Cincinnati Reds are certainly one of them. They did it! They are on the list! They are a Major League Baseball franchise! (I’m starting to think the Reds want us to just celebrate him as good enough.)

Finally, I’m going to try to spend a few nights in the lower cabin in the Colorado high country sometime in 2023. The only question that remains is how many nights without wifi (and therefore without the ability to watch baseball games of Reds) am Will want to spend?