Dateline: 318 Kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico
Reds new manager, Terry Francona, expects tough decisions at the end of spring training camp. Six days before final decisions must be made an easy decision was reached.
Jose Trevino came to Cincinnati in a trade for Fernando Cruz on December 20. In three months to the day, he will break camp as the number one catcher with a lower back strain suffered by starter, Tyler Stephenson.
He will also break camp with a two-year contract extension, reportedly worth $11.5 million. It includes a team option for 2028 with a $1 million buyout.
Just that quickly, Trevino became a favorite among his peers. In the press conference to formally announce the signing, all of his new teammates showed up.
Trevino is starting his eighth Major League season on March 27 against the San Francisco Giants, bringing a career .236 average with 52 doubles, a triple, 32 home runs and 141 RBI.
He was a platinum glove winner in 2022 and an American League All-Star with the New York Yankees.
The Reds struggled to find a backup for Stephenson this winter before obtaining Trevino. The 32-year old from Corpus Christie, Texas quickly proved his worth to the storied franchise.
Francona related a story of Trevino counseling a young Reds’ catching prospect, Alfredo Duno, on the Reds caravan before spring training.
“He is what we thought he was,” Francona said. “He’s as advertised. The people I’ve checked with, the clubbies, they see everything. That is the case. He’s a solid guy. There’s a reason we haven’t even started the season yet and he signed an extension. People feel pretty strongly about him. We had a little fun with it yesterday at our meeting, the guys started yelling, ‘speech, speech’. He actually said something and it was pretty cool.”
“He cares about the right things. He’s got a good way about him. There is some intensity at times which is good,” Francona continued.
“I want to thank the ownership for allowing us to sign, Trevvy to a multi-year deal,” President of Baseball Operations, Nick Krall said. “His agent, Brian Grieper, worked with Rob Coughlin to get it done. It’s been a lot of fun having him here this spring. We really think he’ll be an integral part of this team for the next several years.”
Trevino acknowledged his teammates right away.
“I want to thank all of my teammates, who came out today,” Trevino said. “I want to thank my wife, my agent. I appreciate you all coming out. This means a lot to me. I know we’ve only known each other for a little bit but I’m hoping to make an impact on you all, like I never have before. It’s not about me, like I’m here answering these questions about all of us. I’m Hoping to reach every one of you all.”
The Reds talked about the contract at the time of the trade.
“When we made the trade, I reached out to Brian and talked about maybe doing something,” Krall said. “We talked about it through the arbitration process.”
“It is really important to have two guys (catchers) here to handle the workload,” Krall said.
For his part, Trevino was seduced by the raw talent of the Reds.
“The talent, you look around the team, you have electric guys, you have Elly (De La Cruz) , you have (Matt) McLain, then you look at the pitching staff. It’s young and you look at the guys in the minor leagues. It is very exciting to be about the future. Also, I feel like we have a great team now. It’s time to win.”
“I know a little bit about Cincinnati. I’ve heard about opening day. Me and my wife were in the caravan,” Trevino said. “They were telling us how excited they were for the season. They told me the Bengals were good but when the Reds are going, it’s a fun city. I’m excited. That was a big part of it.”
Joe La Sorsa was reassigned to the minor league camp. La Sorsa the lefty, who is a St. John’s University graduate, to minor league camp.
The 26-year old pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits.
“He had a great camp and we told him that,” Francona said. “It wasn’t an indictment on his pitching. He pitched his ass off. We told these kids, It’s not always on your time table. We respect that but he was good.”
The Reds have three other left handers on the roster, Sam Moll, Brent Suter and Taylor Rogers. Rogers has closing experience.
The Reds are nearing a decision on Spencer Steer. The 27-year old has been hampered by a shoulder problem that started last season. He has been hitting in minor league games, he hasn’t appeared in a Cactus League game since March 1.
“He was a little tired,” said Francona off Steer’s minor league game. “I think fatigued is the right word. It’s to be expected. He’s doing everything in his power.”
Decision time is near for Steer.
“I need to spend some time with him,” Francona said. “Like today or tomorrow. I don’t want to spend time with him, when I don’t know the medical stuff. I don’t want to waste his time.”
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