Why haven’t the Cincinnati Reds extended Scooter Gennett?

The Cincinnati Reds slugging infielder wonders why the team won’t discuss an extension with him

Scooter Gennett has given the Cincinnati Reds two years of love, not to mention 50 home runs. Now he wants to see the Reds do something by way of appreciation in return.

At Reds camp in Goodyear, Arizona, this week, Gennett made plain his disappointment that the team has made no gesture toward opening talks that could lead to a contract extension.
He said his side’s efforts to open the process have been met with silence.

“They know I want to play here,” he told reporters. “I enjoy the fans. I enjoy the coaching staff. I enjoy my teammates,”
He said he has heard “absolutely nothing” about the possibility of an extension, “zero.”

Gennett will make $9.775 million this season in an arbitration settlement but will be a free agent at year’s end. In his two seasons since being acquired from Milwaukee on waivers, he’s batted .295 and .310 and has twice topped 90 RBIs. He is entering his age 29 season.

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Reds GM Nick Krall was as silent on the subject with the media as Gennett says he’s been with the player. “We don’t comment on contract extensions,” Krall said, adding, “It’s been great having him here.”

Gennett, a native of Cincinnati, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that in the two years he’s been with the team he’s been surprised that other players have gotten multi-year extensions, but he hasn’t been approached.

“Busting my butt for the team and seeing other guys get stuff who haven’t been here…you throw your hands up sometimes and go, ‘really?’” he said.

Since Gennett arrived, both catcher Tucker Barnhart and infielder Eugenio Suarez have received multi-year extensions. The Cincinnati Reds also signed Sonny Gray to an extension shortly after acquiring him in a trade with the Yankees this winter.

The Reds reticence to sign Gennett long-term may be due to the looming presence of star prospect Nick Senzel. The team’s No. 1 prospect, he’s viewed as a likely infield option as soon as this season. So from the perspective of Cincinnati Reds management, signing Gennett to a long-term deal could be seen as blocking Senzel’s path.