With the exception of Hunter Greene, no two current Reds players entered their Reds careers with higher expectations than Moustakas and Senzel.
Now, the Reds have to decide whether or not they’re still worthy of starting every day.
As the Reds get starters back from the injured list, they have more of a surplus of depth than they’ve had in a while.
Every game, the Reds have three spots in the lineup for these five players: Moustakas, Senzel, Max Schrock, Albert Almora Jr. and Donovan Solano.
Over the last two seasons, Moustakas hasn’t performed like a good hitter. Since the start of the 2021 season, there are only 37 MLB players with an OPS lower than Moustakas who have at least 330 at-bats.
Among those 37 players, 31 of them can play a premium defensive position (catcher, shortstop, center field).
Mike Moustakas has only started six games at third base over the last month, and the Reds have virtually had him become a full-time designated hitter.
Senzel has the worst WOBA, the third-worst barrel rate of players with at least 100 at-bats, and the second-worst walk rate.
The Reds have much less invested in Almora Jr., Schrock and Solano than they do in Moustakas and Senzel.
Beginning on Tuesday, the Reds will have to decide whether they value recent production over reputation and upside.