Reds Fall To Giants Andrew Abbott Healthy And Finding Form Blake Dunn Dodges A Bullet

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Andrew Abbott built up to 63 pitches but was hit hard by the San Francisco Giants. Abbott allowed five hits, walked one and hit a batter.

Three of the hits were for extra bases. Bryce Eldridge tripled off the center field batter's eye to lead off the second inning. Luis Matos followed with a double.

The Giants scored in the first inning without a hit. Jared Oliva was hit by a pitch to start the game, then stole second and third. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Bericoto.

Matt Chapman hit a long home run after Bericoto doubled to chase Abbott from the game.

"It was a 1-2 slider down the middle. He should have killed it. He's an All-Star hitter," Abbott said. "My change up was way better. Eldridge hit a really good pitch. Matos got his arm in. I don't like giving up hard contact. Those guys took some really good swings. I'm working on the change up and cutter. I don't know the exact terms but I got a fews swings and miss. DJ (Derek Johnson) and I really turned the corner. It is time to stop working on stuff and get ready."

Abbott pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowed five hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts.

"The best thing about it. He got out to 63 pitches," Francona said. "He's not in mid season form and it's not mid season. He's making pitches but he is not making all his pitches. He feels fine. That's what I care about."

Tejay Antone started the fourth innings after minor leaguer Will Cannon got the last out of the third. Antone gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning. Antone has accumulated three scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts.

"Tejay has movement and he still spins it," Francona said. "I know he really spun before be he still spins it pretty good."

Sam Moll authored a scoreless inning with a strikeout.

"Sam threw some really good breaking balls. That was good to see," Francona said. 

Yunior Marte gave up a home run to Matos in his inning.

After scoring 40 runs over the last three games, the Reds were throttled by Tyler Mahle and Trevor McDonald for five innings. The Reds dented the plate on a double by Dane Myers and singles by Noelvi Marte and Ke'Bryan Hayes against Caleb Kilian.

Blake Dunn had to leave the game after jamming his knee into the turf on a bloop to center that fell between him and Carlos Jorge. The hit allowed Osleivis Basabe to score on the hit by Buddy Kennedy.

Dunn hyperextended his knee but it does not look serious.

"I don't need to play doctor," Francona said. "I think Sean (McQueeny head athletic trainer) thinks we dodged the bullet there. On exam, nothing really stood out. Obviously, we'll see how he wakes up tomorrow."

The Reds' first round draft choice Steele Hall is just eight months out of high school.

The Reds scored two runs when Carlos Sanchez, Hall and Yerlin Confidan, who took Dunn's place, put together consecutive singles.

"That was pretty cool. This kid by all accounts should just be getting out of school. That's pretty amazing," Francona said. "That was fun to watch."

The Giants pulled off the 6-3 win in a packed stadium, 9,091 attended, including the Rosie Reds.

Reds Send Andrew Abbott To Face Tyler Mahle And The San Francisco Giants.

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Andrew Abbott is ready to pitch three or four innings against the San Fransisco Giants and former Reds' ace, Tyler Mahle. 

Mahle pitched for the Reds from 2017-2022. The Reds traded him to the Minnesota Twins in August, 2022 for Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Neither made the trip.

The lineup facing Mahle is:

Will Benson LF

Tyler Stephenson C

JJ Bleday DH

Sal Stewart 2B

Nathaniel Lowe 1B

Dane Myers CF

Noelvi Marte RF

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

Garrett Hampson SS

Notable on the traveling party today is the youthful Steele Hall, the Reds top 2025 pick in the draft. This time last year he was in high school.

Abbott will confront:

Jared Oliva CF

Daniel Susec C

Willy Adames SS

Matt Chapman 3B

Bryce Eldridge 1B

Luis Matos LF 

Jake Holton DH

Christian Koss 2B

Reds Cull Big League Roster Julian Aguiar And Jose Franco To Louisville

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

The innings get harder to find as starters get stretched out.

Andrew Abbott is slated to pitch three or four innings against the Giants today, (Friday March 6).

Julian Aguiar was one of the few Reds pitchers, who didn't walk a batter or give up a slew of runs, in Thursday's 14-13 walk off win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Franco started the game. He allowed a run on a hit but was done in by an ill advised defensive play by Elly De La Cruz.

The Reds optioned both pitchers to Triple A Louisville.

"We are really proud of him (Aguiar). He's been through a lot," Francona said. "We're at at the point in camp where some of these cuts get hard. We told him, 'you worked your ass off'. Now go get stretched out. I said go do your stuff. It's a long year. He even admitted that he has a lot of stuff, he has to work through. We told him just go pitch. I think his future is very bright."

Franco, 25, is in the same boat as Aguiar. Not quite ready but close.

"A lot stood out about Franco. Number one was poise," Francona said. "The guy pitched in Double A, a little bit in Triple A. His pitch mix is interesting because he's got plenty of fastball. He has a really good breaking ball. The change up looks like it's coming. We're going to keep him stretched out as a starter, We said, hey man, you're on the roster. You're knocking on the door. If you start, then you can be available for anything. So that's the idea of keeping him stretched out."

Shortstop Edwin Arroyo, who is playing for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic was also optioned along with outfielder, Hector Rodriguez.

"It was hard to see what we wanted to see from Arroyo because he got sick," Francona said. "We were trying to get him ready for the WBC, then he got real sick. I think the one thing that kind of showed me something more than anything. The day he was puking, he played. I'm sitting there bitching about his energy and he's in there puking. That really showed me. He didn't have to do that. Me and Freddy and Brad Meador called him. We didn't want him to read it. There are certain days you have to do things (make cuts). We will talk to him when he gets back."

Rodriguez was in a crowded outfield in which most of them are doing well this spring.

"The group there, like nine, eight of them are like trying to battle," Francona said. "We want to get a fair look at guys and because we knew he was going to start in the minor leagues was probably the biggest reason. He needs to play."

Infielder Leo Balcazar was optioned to Double A Chattanooga.

Non-roster right handed reliever, Darren McCaughan was reassigned to minor league camp.

The minor league camp will start it's schedule of games on Marc 12 to allow all of these players to continue to get at bats and innings. They will also appear in Cactus League games.

Reds Slug Past World Champion Dodgers In Walk Off Fashion

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Rece Hinds lined a three-run home run onto the grassy knoll behind the left field fence at Goodyear Ballpark in the ninth inning to send the Reds to dinner with a 14-13 score that would shame the Super Bowl. 

The Reds have hit 14 home runs over the last three games, Hinds was the fifth of the day.

Elly De La Cruz crushed a 436 foot home run off Cole Irvin with a man on. It cleared the batter's eye in center field. Will Benson hit a two-run home run later in the first inning. Matt McLain hit his fourth home run of the spring. All of them have come this week.

Jose Franco started for the Reds. He surrendered a run in the first inning. Alex Call's line single eluded Christian Encarnacion-Strand's diving attempt to open the game. Two force plays, including one ill advised decision by De La Cruz. The shortstop fielded the ball on the second base side and tried a back-hand flip to McLain who was also chasing the ball. McLain did not see a play at second. His throw to first was late. Max Muncy popped up to De La Cruz in the outfield. De La Cruz dropped it but forced, Alex Freeland at second base with Call going to third. Santiago Espinal flied to right to score Call.

Muncy and Espinal hit back-to-back home runs. Noah Miller launched a two-run home run off Emilio Pagan. Espinal, who was homerless last season with the Reds hit a three-run home run off Tony Santillan.

Connor Phillips gave up three  runs in his inning. Call doubled in Mike Siani. Eliezer Alfonzo scored on a fielder's choice and Call scored on Espinal's second sacrifice fly of the game.

Espinal drove in six runs. He had a total of 16 RBI for Cincinnati last year.

McLain singled for his third hit of the game. De La Cruz singled and Nathaniel Lowe's second home run, a three-run short was off Paul Gervase.

Hagen Danner pitched a rare 1-2-3 inning on this day.

Julian Aguiar, recovering from injury, gave up a home run to former Reds top draft choice, Nick Senzel that gave the Dodgers a comfortable 13-10 lead.

"It was really a tough day to pitch," Francona said. "We saw on both sides. The hard thing for us is we kept walking people. There are going to be balls flying out of here and the infield is quick but when you walk people to boot, that's when it really gets tough. I thought Aggie was pretty good. Golly it's easy for me to say don't walk people but with the wind galing out it's not a good day to pitch."

Reds pitchers walked eight batters but Aguiar was not one of them. He pitched two innings, and gave up two hits but he didn't walk anybody and struck out four of the eight batters he faced.

Jordan Weems came on to get three outs for the Champs to seal the game but walks to Alfredo Duno, one of the top Reds' prospects, and P.J. Higgins set him up for failure. Hector Rodriguez came with a couple feet of tying the game with a double that scored Duno.

Hinds ended it with his second home run this spring. He is hitting .500, 10 games into the spring.

"We were going through our outfield this morning. I really haven't seen an outfielder who has not had a nice spring," Francona said. "If you go down the list (Blake) Dunn, Hinds, Hector (Rodriguez), they're doing some good things."

Francona constantly cautions every one the stats don't matter in spring training.

"You're exactly right the stats don't matter," Francona said. "Even though they don't matter, I'd rather see us hit good than not hit good. We're going to get back to Cincinnati and we're probably going to play through some iffy weather. The field will be slower. But that's ok. Playing when you're supposed to play and who you're supposed to play, I'd much rather see us do good than not do good."

Jose Franco Gets The Start Against The World Champion Dodgers

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Jose Franco make his second start of the spring against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday (030526).

has pitched three innings in two games, allowing one run on three hits, no walks and seven strikeouts.

The World Champions have eight active players and the retired, Clayton Kershaw participating in the World Baseball Classic.

Japan: Shohei Ohtani (DH), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (P)

United States: Will Smith (C), Clayton Kershaw (P)

Puerto Rico: Edwin Díaz (P)

Korea: Hyeseong Kim (IF)

Great Britain: Antonio Knowles (P)

Israel: Jake Gelof (IF)

Netherlands: Shawndrick Oduber (P) 

Franco, who turned in a 10-4 record with a 3.11 ERA in 26 starts between Chattanooga and Louisville last season. He is competing for a spot in the opening day starting rotation but is a long shot with Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder, along with Julian Aguiar and Brandon Williamson. The latter two have Major League experience are returning from injury.

Left hander Cole Irvin, signed as a free agents by the Dodgers will face a Reds lineup of:

TJ Friedl CF

Matt McLain 2B

Elly De La Cruz SS

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Spencer Steer 1B

Will Benson LF

JJ Bleday RF

Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B

Jose Trevino C

Reds Obtain RHP Kyle Nicholas For Tyler Callihan

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall today announced the acquisition of RHP Kyle Nicolas from the Pirates in exchange for INF/OF Tyler Callihan.

Nicolas, who turned 27 on February 22, split the 2025 season between the Pirates and AAA-Indianapolis, pitching to a 1-2 record with a 4.74 ERA in 31 appearances with Pittsburgh and a 2-2 record with a 3.79 ERA in 30 games (1 start) for Indianapolis. He is expected to pitch Italy in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. 

Originally selected by the Marlins in the Competitive Balance B Round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Nicolas has pitched in 86 games across 3 Major League seasons with the Pirates (2023-25). 

Nicolas pitched in 51 games for the Pirates in 2024, finishing 20 games with no saves. He struck out 55 batters in 54 2/3 innings but walked 33. He posted a 3.95 ERA. Last season, Nicolas finished five games in his 31 appearances. 

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Nicolas attended Jackson High School, where as a senior in 2017 was named Prep Baseball Report’s Ohio Player of the Year after pitching to an 8-0 record with 0.50 ERA  and 78 strikeouts, helping the Polar Bears to a state title.

Callihan, 25, made his Major League debut with the Reds this past season, appearing in 4 games before suffering a season-ending, left-forearm fracture on May 5 at Atlanta. Originally selected by the Reds in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, he entered the 2026 season rated by both MLB.com and Baseball America as the organization's 19th-best prospect.

"Tyler Callihan is a guy that we really liked," Krall said. "We drafted him he came through our system. We felt the need to get a power arm, a guy who could pitch at the back of the bullpen. We felt it was a move we had to make for now and in the future. Four pitches, he has the chance to have four pitches and give you multiple innings."

The Pirates have asked about Callihan in the past and the Reds have mentioned Nicolas in discussions prior to the trade.

"We worked around it for awhile it was something that we were able to do," Krall said. "We have a lot of guys competing for the last couple spots in the bullpen but we also know that we are going to have to build our bullpen, year in and year out. We have a group of guys, who are going to be free agents in that pen. We look at this move for now and beyond this year."

The Reds infield depth is such that Callihan could be moved with little effect on the balance of the roster.

"We have some guys, who we added to the 40-man, (Edwin) Arroyo, (Leo) Balcazar. We have Garrett Hampson, a veteran guy, who will be around to the end of camp. Spencer Steer can move around," Krall said.

Steer started the game on Wednesday at second base.

Nicolas will not report to camp until the Italian team finishes in the World Baseball Classic. This could delay his appearance on the active roster.

"We told him, go do your thing," Terry Francona said. "We'd obviously would like to see you but we realize, he has the WBC, then he has to go to Bradenton and pick up his life. Of course the more we see him the better. We just want to get to know him more than anything."

 

The Reds Bombed Cuba As They Prepare For The World Baseball Classic

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

The Reds run-ruled the Cuban National Team with five doubles and three home run among 19 hits.

Cuban pitchers chipped in with five walks and two hit batters plus a balk, thrown in.

Rhett Lowder turned in three scoreless innings, on two hits. Tyler Stephenson gunned down Alexander Vargas, a Reds farm hand who joined Dayton from the Yankees, late last season. He played briefly with Lowder. He also caught Yiddi Cappe stealing after his third inning single.

"Rhett pitches mature," Terry Francona said. "I was really happy. They tried to run twice and he gave Stepho a chance. I thought Stepho's second throw was the best throw I've ever seen him make. In a game where it is maybe hard to distinguish some things. That was really good to see. We can't take credit for Rhett. The guys that drafted him did a really good job. We're the ones who get to tip our cap and talk about him but the player development guys did a really good job because he's beyond his years."

Lowder didn't know who was batting for Cuba. He didn't even notice Vargas was in the lineup. He just attacked hitters as he always has.

"I thought it went well. I got the ball on the ground, sinker slider to righties. There were a couple of two strike pitches I could have executed a little bit better," Lowder said. "I'm getting stronger each week."

"I didn't even look who was in the lineup, I'll be honest. I executed my plan, lefty, righty, whoever was in the box," Lowder said. "It was cool for sure playing Cuba, for sure. It is going to be fun to watch the Classic."

The Reds scored two runs off Julio Robaina when TJ Friedl's fly to left field was lost in the sun by Major League veteran Alexei Ramirez, a 45-year old, lost the ball in the high Arizona sky.

It was Friedl's second double in two innings. 

Sal Stewart doubled into the right field corner to leadoff the third inning. He scored on a double by Spencer Steer that bounced over Yoan Moncada's head into left field against Josimar Cousin. Noelvi Marte launched a three-run home run after Dane Myers walked.

Randy Martinez was the next victim. 

Matt McLain continued to hit with a single off Martinez. Elly De La Cruz walked and Sal Stewart hit a long home run to the opposite field for three runs.

Stephenson singled against Luis Romero, went to third on Marte's double and third hit of the day. Ke'Bryan Hayes sacrifice fly brought home a run.

The Reds starters left but the second group hit Cuba just as hard.

JJ Bleday singled and scored on Nathaniel Lowe's double off Osiel Rodriguez.

Will Benson and Blake Dunn added single in a scoreless seventh.

The Reds put the "Mercy Rule" in effect with eight runs in the top of the eighth. For some unexplained reason Cuba was the home team.

Lowe walked. Garrett Hampson doubled, and Rece Hinds walked. Dunn was hit by a pitch. Leo Balcazar singled. Michael Trautwin was hit by a pitch. Will Benson singled two runs home. Bleday capped the scoring with a home run.

Reds pitchers were good too.

Graham Ashcraft gave up two runs on two hits and a walk.

Brock Burke, Anthony Misiewicz, Luis Mey and Chase Petty pitched scoreless innings. Chase Petty allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning.

"Petty was fine," Francona said. "I wish we could have played that second inning but they have these rules in place. Getting him another inning would have really helped."

Reds pitchers allowed just five hits and one walk. They struck out eight.

Reds Take On Cuba Rhett Lowder Gets The Ball Julio Robaina Faces Reds Hitters

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Rhett Lowder will make his third start of the spring. This time he will start against the Cuban National team, also known as Los Leones de la Caribe or the Lions of the Caribbean.

Lowder has two games under his belt, a two-inning, two hit, one run outing against the Cleveland Guardians on February 21. He struck out four. He pitched three hitless, scoreless innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

The Cuban offense will be led by Yoan Moncada, who resigned with the Los Angeles Angels. Alexei Ramirez, the former Chicago White Sox outfielder, now 40. Alfredo Despaigne, who has hit 451 home runs combined in both the Cuban and Japanese Leagues. He was the teammate of former Reds pitcher from 2023, 2024 and 2025, Nick Martinez in Japan. He is now 39-years old. This will be his third WBC. Despaigne hit .333 in five games in the last tournament.

One of the starters, Livan Mionelo, a left handed pitcher also joined Martinez on the roster of the Fukuoka Southbank Hawks.

The Reds lineup:

TJ Friedl LF

Matt McLain DH

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

Spencer Steer 2B

Dan Myers CF

Tyler Stephenson C

Noelvi Marte RF

Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B

McLain hit three home runs in his last two games. Spencer Steer will get his first start at second base and Sal Stewart at first base.

Cuba's lineup:

Roel Santos CF

Yoan Moncada 3B

Malcom Nunez 1B

Ariel Martinez DH

Omar Hernandez C

Alexei Ramirez LF

Leonel Moas RF

Alexander Vargas SS

Yiddi Cappe 2B

Julio Robaina P

Robaina is a 24-year old left handed pitcher from Havana, Cuba. He currently plays for Algodoneros de Guasave in the Mexican League. Robaina spent six seasons in the Houston Astros system, topping out at Triple A Sugarland in 2024. 

Over six seasons in the minor leagues, Robaina is 23-27 in 59 starts and 108 appearances. He has a 4.49 ERA with 434 strikeouts and 199 walks in 409 innings.

Hunter Greene Shelved With Right Elbow Stiffness

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Reds' starter Hunter Greene will get a couple days of rest with elbow stiffness. 

He was scheduled to pitch on Thursday against Los Angeles but Nick Lodolo is now scheduled to start instead.

Greene will be examined here in Goodyear tomorrow and with Dr. Timothy Kremchek on Friday. The team will know more about it on Tuesday.

Greene pitched an inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday (022826). He didn't record an out in the first inning, throwing all fastballs by design. He was removed and reentered in the second inning. He finished with a scoreless inning.

Cuban Refugee's Grandson Is A Successful Big League Pitcher In The Land Of Opportunity

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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona

Benito Gonzalez worked on a successful farm in Cuba and have time for baseball, although he did follow his favorite player and pitcher Tommy Lasorda, who played for Almendares in Havana in the 1958-59 Cuban Winter League.

When Fidel Castro came to power, Gonzalez fled to Spain as the Castro regime, nationalized the farm that was a big producer of sugar cain among other products. He sent for his wife and daughter, settling in Miami. 

Gonzalez is now 89, still has contacts in Cuba. He believes that repression in Cuba is in it's last days. He is a saavy individual and has a new favorite pitcher, grandson, Nick Martinez,who has established himself in the major leagues.

Reds manager Terry Francona praises Martinez for his competitive nature and willingness to take on the role that will benefit the team.

After email interviews through Martinez it is clear that Gonzalez instilled into his family, through his daughter, Annie, a work ethic and loyalty to America and its immigration opportunities. He was not here for a hand out, but a hand up.

Benito Gonzalez avoided the oppression of the Castro regime and found the United States as the country the country that gave him a chance. Martinez mother told him that Benito's father, had a third grade education and ran a farm. Benito worked the farm as a kid. Rags to riches is a concept as American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie.

Martinez lived it. Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School in Miami.

"It (the school) started in Cuba. Castro went to that school," Martinez explained. "When Castro took over he kicked all the priests out. Those same priests started the school back up. It was the same priests, the same philosophy, it is the same school that just moved."

Martinez, who is a member of the Hall of Fame, believes it is the only institution that survived the revolution. 

"My high school has a very long tradition," Martinez said. "One of the priests from Cuba is still a priest at Belen today. "He's still kicking. I think he's 130 years old," joked Martinez of Father Pedro Cartaya from the class of 1954 in Cuba. He began teaching at Belen in 1962 after it relocated in 1961. He became a priest in 1967 and celebrated 50 years as a priest in 2017.

Martinez' father, Nick, was a good athlete but had a heart murmur and couldn't pass a physical at Southridge High School in Miami. 

"My father was a pretty good athlete. He was able to dunk a basketball in high school and he was only 5'9". He did get cut from the baseball team, actually. Fred Bernstein was the coach. He is a legend high school coach here in Miami. My father told me that there were, like nine or 10 major league baseball players on that high school team (1980). It was the same high school as Yan Gomes."

Former Atlanta Braves manager. Fredi Gonzalez and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Shannon Stewart are also alumni.

The elder Nick Martinez' parents were also from Cuba. He would be born about two years after the Castro takeover. All of four of the grandparents became US citizens.

On Wednesday, (030426) the Cincinnati Reds, who once had a farm team in Havana, will play the Cuban National team as a tune up to the World Baseball Classic. 

Abuelo Benito Gonzalez. confirmed the Cuban team is professional and very talented. He told his grandson that baseball is still popular in Cuba.

Martinez was on United States team in 2023 but was not on the team when they played in Miami. 

"I flew back with the team but there was a chance that I wasn't going to be able to pitch the rest of the tournament, so I had to return to San Diego, training in Arizona. I had to continue my progression. There was a chance that I wouldn't be able to pitch for 10 days. I couldn't risk that."

Technically, Martinez could pitch for the Cuban National team and played with or against a couple of them during the four years he spent pitching in Japan from 2018 through 2021.

"(Livan) Moinelo, I played with, (Alfredo) Despaigne, I played with," Martinez said. "I don't think I would take the opportunity to play for them out of respect for my grandfather. Cuba is a communist country. I've played for the US team twice, now. It is the greatest honor I can have and for my grandfather. He came to this country for the opportunity. In a single lifetime, his grandson is playing for the country that gave him that opportunity. 

"My grandfather still keeps up with what's going on in Cuba and doing what he can on this side, I guess. I don't know how connected he is politically," Martinez said. "My grandfather would always tell us as kids. Venezuela was thriving at the time. He told us communism wasn't going to make its way to us directly from Cuba. It would stretch it's tenacles to Venezuela. He was right."

Recent political events bear him out.