The Cincinnati Reds this season have been a really inconsistent team, and it has been difficult to figure out if they really have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot. When the first half of the season concluded, it appeared as though they were a team on the rise, with a chance to jump into the postseason picture. The team went 8-5 in early July, and went on a five-game win during that time. Going into the second half of the season, it appeared as though Cincinnati could go on a run and continue their success of the recent years by making the playoffs once again.
However, the second half of the season has been anything but a step in the right direction for the Redlegs. Cincinnati has just one win in their last ten games, and they went on a seven-game losing streak before picking up that win. Cincinnati is in much worse shape than they were in early July, and the two biggest reasons are the absences of Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto in the lineup. (Reds SIA Team Profile)
With both guys on the DL, the Reds offense, and defense, is in much worse shape than it is with them on the field. Both guys are Gold Glove winners, and both are known for their impressive ability at the plate, as Phillips has taken home a Silver Slugger award, and Votto has won the Hank Aaron award as well as an MVP. Needless to say, the Reds starting nine suffers when these guys are unable to play. It not only shows in the team’s record, but also in the stat book.
Phillips being out of the lineup hurts the Reds in many ways. Phillips this season has a .272 batting average, seven home runs, 40 RBI, and a .308 OBP. He also has a player rating of 2.1 this season. His replacement, Ramon Santiago, has not exactly matched up with those stats when replacing Phillips. Santiago is batting .253 with zero home runs, and seven RBI. He does have a higher OBP than Phillips, as his OBP is .357, but he also has a much lower player rating at -2.7. Phillips may not be at the top of his game this season, but he is still an irreplaceable asset for the Reds at second base.
As for Joey Votto’s place at first, it’s a little different than Brandon Phillips’ situation. The guys playing behind Votto at first, such as Brayan Pena, are able to match Votto’s stats pretty closely (although Pena is not able to keep up with Votto’s OBP). It’s not an issue of Votto’s backup playing as well as him, but it’s an issue of how much the lineup gets changed, and how much other players get moved around when Votto can not play. With Pena moving to first, that puts all the catching responsibilities on Devin Mesoraco. Catching is difficult, so Mesoraco needs days off, which means Pena has to catch. When Pena is catching, there are a lot of different issues on who Bryan Price should put where. Jay Bruce has been put at first before, which takes an All-Star RF away from his normal position, causing issues in the outfield. Todd Frazier has also played first base some this season as well, and when you put him at first that then causes you to put in a backup third baseman. Frazier leads the Reds in every major hitting statistic, so having to bring a backup third baseman in causes your lineup to take a hit. Clearly, Votto being injured causes some confusion and complication on figuring out who is going to play first base.
Obviously, these two being out of the lineup is very harmful to the Reds in more ways than one. With Phillips, it is not possible to find someone on the Reds roster who can match his abilities both offensively and defensively. As for Votto, trying to replace him with a quality player opens up even more holes and weaknesses at other positions. The Reds are in the middle of a very poor run, and they need both Votto and Phillips back as soon as possible to get back to their winning ways.
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