The Reds have had a busy offseason with nearly all positive news, including the recent signing of outfielder Nick Castellanos. Now here's a little bad news, Cincy. All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez has suffered an offseason injury -- in a swimming pool of all places -- and needed surgery.
Here's the team's statement from Tuesday afternoon:
Cincinnati Reds 3B Eugenio Suárez today had surgery to remove loose cartilage in his right shoulder, an injury suffered recently in a swimming pool.
Suárez' physical activity will be limited at the beginning of spring training.
The team anticipates him to be ready to play toward the beginning of the regular season.
OK, so it's not horrible news. Suarez is expected to be ready to play early in the regular season and it could be worse.
Then again, it's his throwing shoulder and setbacks can happen. Plus, it says "toward the beginning" of the season, not right at the start. What does "toward the beginning" mean, specifically? Well, it could be mid-May if you squint that way.
Also, let's hope Suarez was training or something instead of doing backflips or cannonballs, right? Then again, baseball history is littered with funny/weird offseason injuries.
Suarez, 28, is one of the faces of the Reds franchise. He was an All-Star in 2018 with MVP votes in each of the last two seasons. He led Reds position players in WAR last season, when he hit .271/.358/.572 (134 OPS+) with 49 homers and 103 RBI.
Without Suarez, the Reds could play Mike Moustakas at third base instead of second. Josh VanMeter could be used at second or third. Nick Senzel was an infielder in the minors, but he's also recovering from shoulder surgery. Kyle Farmer also has experience at second and third.
Something to keep in mind is the Reds have a glut of outfielders, so there's also the chance they make a trade for a second or third baseman. It's unlikely they'd pay a big price, however, with Suarez likely to only miss weeks instead of months.
