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.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Only a few months ago, amid the chilly temperatures and dreary skies of winter, many Reds fans questioned some perceived Hot Stove madness.
Cincinnati added another infielder to a crowded picture in Jeimer Candelario and signed veteran starter Frankie Montas for an already deep rotation, and fans kept asking, "Why? How can they possibly fit?"
This camp has answered those questions and underscored why you can never feel like you have too much depth.
“That’s how baseball is," Reds manager David Bell said on Monday. "When you’ve been around good situations and good teams, you understand that.”
Here are a few examples of the issues the Reds have dealt with.
March 8: Third baseman Noelvi Marte received an 80-game suspension, plus ineligibility for the postseason, after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
Saturday: Center fielder TJ Friedl fractured his right wrist trying to make a diving catch.
Sunday: Lefty starter Brandon Williamson complained of a sore pitching shoulder. Williamson will open the season on the injured list.
Monday: Matt McLain was scratched from playing the Giants as a precaution because of a sore left shoulder. After nothing concerning was initially found by the doctor's exam, McLain went for an MRI on Tuesday. It's possible he won't be ready for Opening Day, but treatment options are still being discussed. He also missed three weeks early in camp because of a sore right oblique from overswinging.
Five players will open the season on the injured list: Williamson, Friedl, starter Nick Lodolo (left tibia) and relievers Ian Gibaut (right forearm) and Alex Young (back). Both Lodolo and Gibaut are expected to be ready in early-to-mid April.
Reliever Sam Moll (left shoulder) is tentatively expected to be ready for the season but didn't make his spring debut until Monday.
The Reds have been hoping to keep the adversity to a minimum, of course, but Bell isn't fearing it either. They went through a lot of attrition in 2023, as well, and won 82 games while contending for the playoffs until the final weekend of the season.
“That’s always one of the messages we talk about -- the challenge of the game," he said. "Probably the biggest key to success is when things happen, how you respond to those situations equals the outcome of where you’re headed. It’s that important. It happens that often where you’re constantly tested and the response to that is the key to everything.”
Senior Reporter Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05.