Reds infielder Matt McLain underwent surgery to repair the labrum and some damaged cartilage in his left shoulder Tuesday, president of baseball operations Nick Krall announced this morning (X link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). A timeline for his recovery has yet to be determined, though the Reds are hopeful he’ll be able to return to the roster at some point this season.
McLain, the 17th overall draft pick back in 2021, made his big league debut last year and instantly cemented himself as a building block in Cincinnati. He appeared in 89 games and took 403 plate appearances, turning in an outstanding .290/.357/.507 slash line (128 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 23 doubles, four triples and a 14-for-19 showing in stolen bases. McLain’s 28.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate were both worse than average, which, coupled with a sky-high .385 average on balls in play, created some reason to forecast a bit of regression. Given how strong his overall performance was, however, even if his rate stats took a step back in ’24, McLain would still likely have been a well-above-average performer.
In 2023, McLain split his time between the Reds’ middle infield spots, though that was due largely to injuries for fellow top prospect Elly De La Cruz. With De La Cruz healthy in 2024, McLain had been ticketed for everyday work at second base, pushing 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India into more of a utility role.
India now figures to see more time back at the keystone. However, Cincinnati’s recent acquisition of infielder Santiago Espinal gives them a superior defensive option if the club still wants to get India more work at first base, at designated hitter, or perhaps even in left field. The fact that the Reds proactively acquired Espinal seemed to be a harbinger of bad news regarding McLain, and that’s unfortunately proven to be the case.
Much has been made of Cincinnati’s wealth of infield talent, but the injury to McLain and an 80-game PED suspension have thinned things out considerably. Some pundits and onlookers questioned the wisdom of signing Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45M deal with such an enviable crop of young infielders. Still, circumstances have changed and Candelario now looks more like a vital piece of the infield mix than an arguably superfluous luxury addition. He’ll take the primary role at the hot corner, with De La Cruz at short, Espinal/India at second and Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first base. Versatile Spencer Steer can back up at any of those four spots, but he’s expected to function as the Reds’ primary left fielder in 2024.
The 24-year-old McLain will receive big league service time and pay while rehabbing his shoulder on the injured list. He finished the 2023 season at 140 days of service, meaning he’s still controllable for six full seasons. He’ll likely be a Super Two player following the 2025 season, positioning him to be arbitration-eligible four times rather than three. Still, he’ll remain under the Reds' control all the way through the 2029 campaign.
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