Should the Cincinnati Reds Sign This Veteran Free-Agent
The Reds are coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and now sit tied for third in the NL Central at 9-6 on the season. They now head out west to face the 6-10 Seattle Mariners who are coming off a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, which they lost two games to one. They have Nick Lodolo back in the rotation but are still waiting for Matt McLain and TJ Friedl to return to the field. Jeimer Candelario has been playing third base for the Reds this season after Noelvi Marte was suspended for using a banned substance. This leaves Christain Encarnacion Strand getting the bulk of the work at first base. The issue right now is neither of these two is hitting the ball very well to start the year. Jeimer is slashing .190/.250/.379 with a .629 OPS so far this year. CES is slashing .192/.197/.329 with a .526 OPS on the year. Now I am sure that if TJ Friedl was healthy we would have seen Spencer Steer earn a few starts over at third, but for now he’s needed in left field and is on fire at the plate.
I know his pushing it age-wise turning 39 this October, but this veteran Third baseman might be worth a one-year deal low money to fill the gap and be a good bench guy for this young Reds team. Longoria played last year with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in 74 games with 211 at-bats last season. He scored 25 runs, had 47 hits, nine doubles, 11 home runs, 28 RBIs 23 walks, and struck out 73 times. He slashed .223/.295/.422 with a .717 OPS for the Diamondbacks last year. He played in 16 postseason games last year for the Diamondbacks with three doubles, four RBIs, and three walks. He remains a reliable defender at the hot corner as well. In 14 games last year at third he had 34 chances and had a perfect fielding percentage. I can see him being a good mentor for Noelvi Marte once off his suspension and a solid bench player for the team as the season continues.
