Reds non-tender Senzel

[CJD]

I think this was a personal thing rather than a business thing. I remember when we sent him down to the minors for seemingly no reason and only called him back up due to injuries. He was better than the players who we brought up to replace him. There were rumblings that he was upset about his workload. That he felt he was more than just a LHP specialist. But every time they gave him an opportunity against RHP, he'd play horribly. So they may have mutually agreed to part ways rather than go through another season where the two sides disagree on the correct utilization of him.

With that said, ~3.0 MM (his estimated arbitration salary) for a LHP specialist is not a bad price, especially considering HOW good Senzel was in that realm (.347/.389/.619/1.009 in 118 ABs vs LHP).

I suppose you can convince yourself that this was a small sample size phenomenon, since his career against LHP was much lower prior to 2023. If that is how the Reds feel, this move makes sense. But still, if they signed him and he regressed, he'd only cost 3 million dollars. A lot for you and me, but almost nothing for the Reds, especially with Votto and Moose finally off the payroll.

I hope they plan to use that 3 million dollar wisely to improve this roster. Because, at this exact moment, we are down one dangerous weapon against left handers who had positional versatility.