The Cincinnati Reds have bolstered their infield depth by claiming Scooter Gennett off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds claimed second baseman Scooter Gennett off waivers from the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds announced the move on Twitter, also adding that first baseman Christian Walker had been claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Reds have claimed IF Scooter Gennett (#4) off waivers from the Brewers. D-backs have claimed 1B Christian Walker off waivers from the Reds. pic.twitter.com/reLlfBvXR8
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) March 28, 2017
Over the offseason, the Reds traded longtime second baseman Brandon Phillips to the Atlanta Braves. The move seemingly opened up second base for promising youngster Jose Peraza, who batted an impressive .324/.352/.411 (102 OPS+) with the Reds last season. Gennett should be a solid backup plan and a valuable bat off the bench.
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Gennett played in 136 games with the Brewers last season, slashing a respectable .263/.317/.412 (92 OPS+) with a career-high 14 home runs and 56 RBI. When he first came into the big leagues back in 2013, he batted a stellar .324 through 69 games as a rookie.
Gennett’s best full season may have been 2014, when he slashed .289/.320/.434 (107 OPS+) through 137 games and was worth 1.7 fWAR. Last season, Gennett’s defensive metrics were not quite as good as those of previous years, and he was worth only 0.1 fWAR.
Other than playing one inning of right field back in 2014, the left-handed hitting Gennett has played second base exclusively at the big league level. However, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports that Gennett saw time in the outfield and also third base with the Brewers during Spring Training of this year.
It had previously been announced that the Brewers intended to go with Jonathan Villar as their starting second baseman, leaving Gennett without a position. Becoming more versatile would obviously increase Gennett’s value to the Reds as a bench player. Sheldon also reports that Gennett was originally born in Cincinnati, making the move to the Reds somewhat of a homecoming for the 26-year-old.
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Gennett was a 16th-round draft pick of Milwaukee back in 2009. He had spent his entire career in the Brewers organization up until now. Over four seasons with Milwaukee, Gennett was an overall .279/.318/.420 (99 OPS+) hitter, making him roughly league average at the plate.