Two players on the Reds may need to go under the knife, according to David Bell, as relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (X link) and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (X link). Infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand has ligament damage in his fractured hand while left-hander Brandon Williamson has a lesion in his shoulder. Both players will be evaluated in the coming days with season-ending surgery possible for each of them.
Encarnacion-Strand debuted with a splash last year, hitting 13 home runs in his first 63 major league games. He slashed .270/.328/.477 for a wRC+ of 112 while playing first and third base, as well as a brief stint in right field.
That showing got him the everyday first base gig coming into 2024, though the season hasn’t played out the way he or the club hoped. He produced a tepid line of .190/.220/.293 this year before landing on the injured list in early May. He had been hit on the hand by a pitch at the end of April. X-rays after that HBP were negative but revealed an “old fracture” in one of his bones, per Wittenmyer. He continued playing for a little bit longer before eventually being placed on the IL.
He’s been on the IL for over a month now and it seems some further testing discovered some ligament damage. “Surgery is an option,” Bell said today, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer on X. “We’re hopeful he can start progressing. If that’s what he and the specialist decide.”
As for Williamson, he’s been on the injured list all year due to a shoulder strain that was diagnosed in spring training. He had been on a rehab assignment of late but that was shut down last week due to continued discomfort.
Once a top 100 prospect, Williamson went from the Mariners to the Reds as part of the March 2022 trade that sent Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker to Seattle. Williamson made his major league debut last year with a 4.46 earned run average that isn’t too exciting, but it’s perhaps notable that his results improved as he got acclimated to the majors. He had a 5.82 ERA in his first eight outings but then a 3.79 ERA in his final 15.
The Reds’ season has been significantly affected by the absences of potential contributors so far this year. Noelvi Marté received an 80-game PED suspension and has been away from the team all year, while players like Encarnacion-Strand, Williamson, Matt McLain, Nick Lodolo, TJ Friedl and others have missed time due to injuries.
Lodolo and Friedl have since returned to the club and McLain could perhaps rejoin the club in August. If either Encarnacion-Strand or Williamson or both end up requiring surgery, it will deprive the club of another such return later in the year.
The club slumped badly in May but has been quite hot of late, with seven wins in their past eight games. Their 32-34 record isn’t especially impressive but it puts them just half a game back of a playoff spot in the relatively weak National League playoff race. Assuming they hang around the postseason picture in the coming weeks, they may be able to address these issues, if the surgeries are eventually deemed necessary.
For now, Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Frankie Montas are in four rotation spots with one opening due to the recent optioning of Graham Ashcraft. Internal options to fill the spot include Nick Martinez and Carson Spiers. Williamson would be in that mix if healthy but he would naturally be subtracted if he ends up undergoing the surgery.
On the infield, Spencer Steer has been the regular first baseman lately, with Jonathan India at second, Jeimer Candelario at third and Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, while the designated hitter spot has largely been used to rotate the club’s many outfielders into the lineup. If Encarnacion-Strand were healthy, Steer could have been moved to third or DH or a corner outfield spot, though that possibility is clearly not an option at the moment and may not come into the play at all for the remainder of 2024.
More must-reads: