MILWAUKEE -- Second baseman Scooter Gennett began his Minor League rehab assignment at Class A Advanced Daytona on Monday but has been held back from playing the past two games.
It’s not because of a setback as he recovers from a severely strained right groin, an injury sustained on March 22 that put him on the 60-day injured list. Instead it’s weather-related. Rain in the area and wet fields had the Reds taking precautions.
Could that delay his timetable to return?
“That alone wouldn’t cause us to necessarily extend, as of today, his time out on rehab,” manager David Bell said on Thursday. “I think it’s based more on just how he’s feeling. That’s still going to be a matter of where he is when that calendar that we currently have ends, and then we’ll kind of go from there.”
Gennett was scheduled to play on Thursday night as Daytona started a four-game series at Clearwater. He is slated to move on to Triple-A Louisville by Monday, when that affiliate opens a two-game series at Indianapolis.
“I think the current [rehab] calendar ends Tuesday,” Bell said. “We’re still out on the road, we have an off-day Thursday. I think it would probably be extended at least a day or two, maybe longer. It just depends on where he is.”
The Reds have a day off next Thursday and begin a three-game series vs. the Cubs on June 28.
Add a bat?
This could be an important five weeks for the Reds leading up to the July 31 Trade Deadline. The performance of the club, which has surged this week, could determine whether it becomes a buyer or a seller.
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported from a source that the front office is open to adding a controllable hitter before the Deadline.
In fourth place in the National League Central, the Reds are still within striking distance of the first-place Cubs, the second-place Brewers and the NL Wild Card spots. Many managers often clamor for their front offices to make additions for a pennant race, but Bell likes the ingredients he already has.
“I love who we are as a team. For us to truly be the best we can be, we have to be in the moment every single pitch, every single night, to go out and try to win tonight,” he said. “That’s really important to our team. I don’t like to think too 'big picture,' because that’s not how we’re at our best. Also, I don’t like to think about changing our team. I love our team. We know we’re in baseball and things do change and those things happen on their own, but we want to win with our team.”
One plus, even if the Reds don’t add anyone, is that Gennett is likely to bring a jolt to the lineup, and starting pitcher Alex Wood (lower back spasms) is almost ready to start his own rehab assignment. Wood could augment the NL’s second-best rotation.
If the Reds opt to sell, which ownership has often resisted, even during losing seasons, they have several players in their final year of control, including Yasiel Puig, Tanner Roark, Jose Iglesias, Wood and Gennett.