Infielder Edwin Ríos not too long ago elected free company, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for project by the Reds final week and was despatched outright to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers, however he as an alternative exercised his proper to return to the open market.
Ríos, 30, began the yr on a minor league cope with the Reds and had a pleasant run at Triple-A. He acquired into 50 video games for the Bats and hit 11 house runs whereas drawing walks at an 11.8% clip. He additionally struck out in 28.6% of his plate appearances however his .243/.340/.486 batting line nonetheless translated to a strong wRC+ of 108.
He was known as up by Cincinnati a couple of weeks in the past however didn’t get a lot enjoying time, which has been a theme of his profession. The Reds gave him simply ten plate appearances in 5 video games throughout his two weeks on the roster. The Reds acquired Austin Slater from the Giants and in addition welcomed gamers like Stuart Fairchild and Jake Fraley again from absences and Ríos acquired squeezed off.
Gamers with not less than three years of service time or a earlier profession outright have the power to elect free company relatively than settle for one other outright project. Ríos qualifies on each of these counts and now used that proper to search for a brand new gig on the open market.
Ríos has all the time hit effectively within the minors and in addition had a pleasant begin to his main league profession with the Dodgers. In 2019 and 2020, he slashed .260/.338/.634 within the massive leagues with Los Angeles however was restricted to 139 plate appearances on a reasonably crowded roster. In 2021, he was restricted to simply 60 journeys to the plate and struggled to a line of .078/.217/.137 however then bounced again in 2022. Although he nonetheless solely acquired 92 plate appearances, he hit seven house runs and slashed .244/.293/.500 in these.
By the top of 2022, he had 20 homers in simply 291 journeys to the plate and a .219/.299/.492 batting line that translated to a 112 wRC+. However he certified for arbitration by crossing the three-year service mark and the Dodgers determined to not tender him a contract. He signed with the Cubs and continued hitting effectively within the minors however slashed simply .071/.235/.214 within the small pattern of 34 plate appearances he acquired on the main league stage. He exhausted his ultimate choice season final yr and was outrighted off the roster in the midst of the marketing campaign.
Because the begin of 2018, Ríos has hit .272/.347/.511 and a produced a 110 wRC+ in virtually 1400 Triple-A plate appearances. Regardless of that persistently robust work and his encouraging displaying with the Dodgers within the majors a couple of years in the past, he nonetheless hasn’t cracked 100 plate appearances in any particular person MLB season. Defensively, he offers a little bit of versatility since he has lined up on the 4 nook spots on the main league stage.
29 golf equipment handed on the possibility to seize Ríos from the Reds, so he’s probably taking a look at a minor league deal within the coming days or perhaps weeks. With the commerce deadline arising on July 30, it’s doable that some new alternatives would possibly open up for him. If he finds a task anyplace, he’s out of choices however has lower than 4 years of service time and will theoretically be retained through arbitration past this season.
