Former Cincinnati Reds’ Utility Player Signs Deal with National League Champions
On the same day that former Cincinnati Reds’ Gold Glover Tucker Barnhart signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, veteran utility infielder Kevin Newman did the same.
The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:
Newman, 30, spent the 2023 campaign in Cincinnati, slashing .253/.311/.364 with three homers and eight steals in 74 contests. He’ll try to win a utility role in Arizona, with most of his playing time perhaps coming versus lefties, against whom Newman posted an .813 OPS last season.
Newman has spent parts of six years in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Reds. He spent the first five years of his career with Pittsburgh, playing in a career-high 148 games back in 2021.
Lifetime, he’s a .259 hitter with a .304 on-base percentage. He’s got 23 career home runs.
Though Newman contributed to the Reds in 2023, the team didn’t have a place for him in 2024. Cincinnati features some of the best young infield talent in the league, boasting Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer, Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan India.
Even that feels like too many bodies for the Reds to navigate, as someone likely has to play DH, someone has to go to the outfield, and there’s still the idea that India could get traded.
The Reds went 82-80 and finished third in the National League Central last season. They missed the playoffs in the last week of the season and haven’t made the playoffs since the COVID 2020 season.
