JUST FINISHED: The Cincinnati Reds have formally announced that they have signed another elite infield player from…..

Cincinnati Reds sign infielder Edwin Rios

Edwin Rios has signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. The infielder has spent parts of the last five seasons in the big leagues – four with the Los Angeles Dodgers and then last season with the Chicago Cubs. His deal does not include an invite to big league spring training. Rios is in camp, though, as a part of early minor league camp that is taking place now in Goodyear along with 46 other minor league players within the organization.

During his big league time he’s hit .205/.292/.465 in 325 plate appearances. He’s hit for a bunch of power but also racked up a ton of strikeouts – 109 of them – while hitting for a low average. His time in the field is limited in the majors, but he’s played first and third base often when he’s been out there, with another 9.1 innings split between left and right field.

Last season much of his year was spent in Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs. He got 176 plate appearances there and hit .263/.364/.454. He’s a career .280/.351/.517 hitter at the Triple-A level. Going back to 2018 all of his time has been spent in Triple-A or MLB. Much like his big league time, the 29-year-old has played first, third, left, and right field – but almost all of that time as been at first and third base.

Rios is a guy who provides depth in Triple-A. He’s got big league experience, has some pop in his bat, and can provide some positional flexibility. He’ll be pretty far down the depth chart given that he’s not on the 40-man roster, but any time someone is in Triple-A, a little bit of good performance mixed in with an opening coming in the big leagues for one reason or another puts a guy in the conversation real quick.