aquino

[Redsfan6272]

The difference i could see is in Aquinos batting stance from laat year to now. He did crush the ball today which I am glad but this is what i noticed
This is last August when he was crushing:


And this is this years stance:

[mth123]

We can't compare VanMeter to Aquino.
VanMeter was here to be a back up infielder, the reason he got playing time was because Moose missed so many games early in the year. Aquino wasn't going to play infield.

Jankowski had just 15 ABs. Ervin had 35 ABs but he was the LHH off the bench.

It was Davidson who was in the role Aquino has now.
Davidson had 43 ABs, Aquino has had 35 if ya wanna throw a fit over Davidsons 43 ABs a difference of 8 ABs knock yourself out.

I Like Aquino

1. Ervin is a Rh hitter, but earned a spotr last season. He's not an issue.
2. The difference isn't 8 ABs. It's 43 ABs. Had Aquino been here all season, he'd have had Davidsons and his own.

To me the issue was Jankowski. He was kept for secondary reasons that made little sense and had Aquino had that roster spot, he may have had a lot more than the 15 ABs Jankowski got while the Reds were struggling so much offensively. Aquino might have been a guy to get a shot at adding some of that missing offense, but he wasn't on teh roster, so they kept going to Ervin, Davidson and letting Shogo flounder. Even had Davidson been on teh roster, Aquino may have gotten some of those DH PAs once Davidson stopped hitting. Had Aquino been kept on the roster as one of the top 28 players (he easily was) there is no telling what may have happened in those games when he wasn't available. That's especially true since Senzel missed a lot of time. In those games, it should have been Aquino in LF and Shogo in CF.

I'm not even a huge Aquino fan. I think he's a big question mark, but he's clearly a better option than many guys kept ahead of him.

[MikeS21]

For all this back and forth on Aquino this year, just don’t lose sight of the fact that you are arguing about the 5th outfielder on the team.

Not sure Aquino necessarily earned the role of 5th OF. It sort of fell to him - mostly because of roster manipulation. Pretty sure some of the DFA players were only cut because of the crazy roster rules enforced in this messed up season. In a normal season, there would have been less need of constantly tweaking the active roster to accommodate all the double headers, etc. Aquino would have been at AAA as the 6th or 7th OF.

[mth123]

Going back to the off-season, Reds didn’t see a major role for Aquino. With Senzel and Winker already set for starting time, they signed Castellanos and Akiyama. If they viewed Aquino as a serious candidate for major playing time, they would have saved some money.

Reds probably did use secondary criteria in filling out the roster. But in terms of the primary outfield spots, they clearly didn’t think Aquino was ready. They wanted to work with him more and eventually moved him into Ervin’s platoon role.

He was easily one of their best 30 players and one of their best 28. The team hasn't hit all year. Had he been on the roster, there is no telling how much he might have actually played. He wasn't, so when guys were struggling, Bell was trying a lot of stuff to get offense. Not one of those things was the guy who did the same thing for the team last year. Had he actually been on the roster, there is no telling how much he may have played. I'm the first to acknowledge that he may have been just as bad, but the team kept guys who clearly didn't belong while the offense struggled and the guy who gave the spark last year wasn't even on the roster. Senzel missed a lot of games. Shogo was terrible in July and August. Castallanos was awful for a month. Ervin was clearly not hitting. Davidson, ran into a couple, but was was about a month past his expiration date while he was still the RHH DH. There was plenty of room for Aquino to get plenty of PT. The Reds prioritized secondary matters. It makes zero sense.

[Hoosier Red]

The difference i could see is in Aquinos batting stance from laat year to now. He did crush the ball today which I am glad but this is what i noticed
This is last August when he was crushing:


And this is this years stance:

That's really helpful. I'm curious, what was his stance like when he was struggling last September? I'm not saying that to be flip, but rather I'm curious if the Reds were intent on changing his stance, it's possible that this would be easier to do when away from everyday competition.

[Kc61]

He was easily one of their best 30 players and one of their best 28. The team hasn't hit all year. Had he been on the roster, there is no telling how much he might have actually played. He wasn't, so when guys were struggling, Bell was trying a lot of stuff to get offense. Not one of those things was the guy who did the same thing for the team last year. Had he actually been on the roster, there is no telling how much he may have played. I'm the first to acknowledge that he may have been just as bad, but the team kept guys who clearly didn't belong while the offense struggled and the guy who gave the spark last year wasn't even on the roster. Senzel missed a lot of games. Shogo was terrible in July and August. Castallanos was awful for a month. Ervin was clearly not hitting. Davidson, ran into a couple, but was was about a month past his expiration date while he was still the RHH DH. There was plenty of room for Aquino to get plenty of PT. The Reds prioritized secondary matters. It makes zero sense.

Once Reds decided on Ervin and Davidson as primary RH platoon players, it was reasonable to work with AA at Prasco. I didn’t agree that Ervin or Davidson were better, but once that decision was made the outcome was sensible.

Aquino would not have received playing time as sixth OFer. He is not the defensive-minded CF backup they wanted. He is not a backup infielder. He would have mostly sat on the bench.

They decided he had holes in his game and was better off working at Prasco. Eventually, the team did not hit, Ervin and Davidson did not hit, they made changes and believed AA was ready to contribute in the Ervin platoon role.

[UPRedsFan]

There is information we don't have which the Reds have. How did AA look at Prasco? Was he swinging and missing at every breaking ball off the plate? Was he not making much contact in general? Did he develop and improve and find a groove at Prasco? If he was playing at AAA hitting .175 with lots of K's and few bb's no one would be clamoring to see him. Maybe that's the equivalent of what he was doing at Prasco. We don't know.

[Kc61]

Aquino was recalled from Prasco four time this season, the first time in July, just a few games into the season, and received starts every time he was called up. He even was sent down and called up the same day last week when a spot suddenly opened up. He was called up because he was deemed ready to contribute. He was sent down, because the Reds believed that they had better players. This was all with 30 and 28 man rosters, so there was room for him every time.

The facts don’t support your narrative. The facts are clear. The Reds felt Aquino was ready, but also felt that other players were better. They valued most of the other players because they batted left handed or played other positions, even though they were redundant.

The Reds called up AA a few times when they had an immediate need. He was the best available alternative to fill an emergency need. It does not mean they viewed him as ready to contribute on a sustained basis.

In fact, on a recent road trip, Aquino was not even on the taxi squad. They evidently preferred him to work at Prasco.

You and others constantly attribute various motives to the Reds on this. There is no basis for it. Reds simply disagreed on his readiness to help, which is why they spent the off-season acquiring other OFers.

[757690]

The Reds called up AA a few times when they had an immediate need. He was the best available alternative to fill an emergency need. It does not mean they viewed him as ready to contribute on a sustained basis.

In fact, on a recent road trip, Aquino was not even on the taxi squad. They evidently preferred him to work at Prasco.

You constantly attribute motives to the Reds on this. But from the outset, beginning in the off-season, they clearly lacked confidence in this player. That was the driving force, right or wrong.

They lacked confidence in him, I agree. They didn’t view him has a ready to contribute on a regular basis. I agree. They still don’t. He is not playing everyday. He’s in the role of a backup with occasional starts and playing time.

The same as when he was called up the first few times. During those two brief stops with the Reds he had 3 starts, played in 5 games, and put up a .708 OPS. That was in the two first weeks of the season. That matches with his playing time now.

It doesn’t seem like the Reds opinion of Aquino has changed. All that has changed is that the chaff that they liked better than him is now gone.

[Kc61]

They lacked confidence in him, I agree. They didn’t view him has a ready to contribute on a regular basis. I agree. They still don’t. He is not playing everyday. He’s in the role of a backup with occasional starts and playing time.

The same as when he was called up the first few times. During those two brief stops with the Reds he had 3 starts, played in 5 games, and put up a .708 OPS. That was in the two first weeks of the season. That matches with his playing time now.

It doesn’t seem like the Reds opinion of Aquino has changed. All that has changed is that the chaff that they liked better than him is now gone.

It’s perfectly fair to disagree with Reds’ talent assessment of Aquino. I wanted an OFer, probably Ervin, traded this off-season. I never suggested AA be traded, I wanted him to have a substantial role.

But let’s stop all the speculation about the Reds’ motives and reasoning on this. Like with any player decision, they simply didn’t think Aquino was ready to help. They preferred to work with him at Prasco. They told us this when they loaded up with other OFers in the off-season.

[757690]

There is information we don't have which the Reds have. How did AA look at Prasco? Was he swinging and missing at every breaking ball off the plate? Was he not making much contact in general? Did he develop and improve and find a groove at Prasco? If he was playing at AAA hitting .175 with lots of K's and few bb's no one would be clamoring to see him. Maybe that's the equivalent of what he was doing at Prasco. We don't know.

You are correct, we don’t know what he did at Prasco, but in his early stint with the Reds, from July 25-Aug2, he put up a .708 OPS, .333 OBP with 3 K’s and one walk.

Teeny tiny sample size, but he didn’t look overmatched, and actually was already showing signs of being more disciplined at the plate.

[757690]

It’s perfectly fair to disagree with Reds’ talent assessment of Aquino. I wanted an OFer, probably Ervin, traded this off-season. I never suggested AA be traded, I wanted him to have a substantial role.

But let’s stop all the speculation about the Reds’ motives and reasoning on this. Like with any player decision, they simply didn’t think Aquino was ready to help. They preferred to work with him at Prasco. They told us this when they loaded up with other OFers in the off-season.

I agree with this. What I disagree with you about is that he was called up because the Reds thought he had improved while at Prasco. They only called him up because they tried a bunch of scrubs in his place, and they all failed.

[Kc61]

You are correct, we don’t know what he did at Prasco, but in his early stint with the Reds, from July 25-Aug2, he put up a .708 OPS, .333 OBP with 3 K’s and one walk.

Teeny tiny sample size, but he didn’t look overmatched, and actually was already showing signs of being more disciplined at the plate.

The Reds were not persuaded by a historic month of August 2019. Why should they be persuaded by a teeny tiny sample size hitting .708 OPS?

[mth123]

Once Reds decided on Ervin and Davidson as primary RH platoon players, it was reasonable to work with AA at Prasco. I didn’t agree that Ervin or Davidson were better, but once that decision was made the outcome was sensible.

Aquino would not have received playing time as sixth OFer. He is not the defensive-minded CF backup they wanted. He is not a backup infielder. He would have mostly sat on the bench.

They decided he had holes in his game and was better off working at Prasco. Eventually, the team did not hit, Ervin and Davidson did not hit, they made changes and believed AA was ready to contribute in the Ervin platoon role.

So what you are saying is they wasted a bunch of time before they realized what most of us already knew. I disagree with a lot of this. Aquino is capable in all three OF positions. The defensive problems that were being removed from games were Winker and Castellanos. Aquino is probably a better choice in a corner over the guys they kept simply because of his arm. He's also a very fast runner. Then when guys weren't hitting and tehy made an adjustment, they added Payton. This was an organizational screw-up.

[757690]

The Reds were not persuaded by a historic month of August 2019. Why should they be persuaded by a teeny tiny sample size hitting .708 OPS?

They clearly were not persuaded. They sent him down for quite awhile afterwards.

I was just pointing out that we do have some information on what he looked like at the beginning of this season.