Reds ink Farmer; cut Casli, Bradly, Goodwin
Published 11:11 pm Wednesday, December 2, 2020
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds declined to offer contracts to four players for the 2021 season, including reliever Archie Bradley, catcher Curt Casali and outfielder Brian Goodwin.
The team also announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to a one-year major league deal with infielder Kyle Farmer.
Bradley and Goodwin were both acquired in mid-season trades as the Reds made a push for the playoffs.
The right-handed Bradley, 28, came over from the Diamondbacks and pitched well in his six regular-season appearances with Cincinnati, giving up just one run over 7 1/3 innings.
Bradley allowed the deciding run in Game 1 of the team’s NL wild-card series against the Braves, which Atlanta won 1-0 in 13 innings.
Goodwin struggled with the Reds, batting just .163 in 49 at-bats. The 30-year-old played the first half of the season with the Los Angeles Angels.
Casali, 32, spent the past three seasons in Cincinnati and hit .224 with six homers in 76 at-bats in 2020.
The 30-year-old Farmer is a versatile player who can play all positions on the infield and is even an option at catcher. He hit .266 last season.
The Reds also declined to offer a contract to right-hander R.J. Alaniz, who pitched in 12 big league games in 2019.
The Reds completed a trade on Wednesday that sent relief pitcher Robert Stephenson and minor league outfielder Jameson Hannah to the Rockies for pitcher Jeff Hoffman and minor league pitcher Case Williams.
Hoffman, 27, was originally the ninth overall pick of the Blue Jays in the 2014 MLB Draft. At the 2015 Trade Deadline, he was the centerpiece of the deal that sent shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from Colorado to Toronto.
The Reds covet pitchers with high spin rates and Hoffman fits that bill along with having a good curveball potential. But in 68 career games, including 38 starts, he was 10-16 with a 6.40 ERA. In a career-high 16 relief appearances during the 2020 season, he was 2-1 with a 9.28 ERA after posting a 0.93 ERA over his first five games.
Stephenson, 27, was Cincinnati’s first-round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft and came with high expectations initially as a right-handed starter. But he was 7-9 with a 4.77 ERA in 22 big league starts and often struggled with inconsistency and confidence.
In 2019, Stephenson was switched to a bullpen role and found some traction while posting a 3.57 ERA in 57 appearances. Limited to 10 games this season because of a back injury, he posted a 9.90 ERA.
Cincinnati’s No. 15 prospect, the 23-year-old Hannah was acquired in the 2019 trade deadline deal that sent pitcher Tanner Roark to Oakland. In 133 games at Class A Advanced in ’19, he batted .224 with a .708 OPS, two home runs, 37 RBIs and 28 doubles.