The blows keep on coming for the Cincinnati Reds in the early part of the 2022 MLB season.
The club announced this weekend that they would be placing 2nd baseman Jonathan India on the 10 day injured list as he continues to deal with hamstring tightness in his right leg. The 2021 NL Rookie of the year missed time earlier this season with the same issue and has been limited to just 11 games on the season.
India, 25, is hitting .295 with 3 RBIs and 5 runs scored thus far in 2022 and was one of the few bright spots during the miserable start to the season for Cincinnati. With their leadoff hitter only available for half the team’s games thus far, the Reds have stumbled to a 3-19 record on the year.
The poor start is easily the worst record in the Majors at the moment, and has also broken the Reds 2018 mark for the worst start to a season in franchise history. No small feat given the fact that the team has been in existence since 1882. Only the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who opened the year 1-21, have started a season with a worse record.
India’s absence isn’t going to help matters for a team that’s currently riding a 6 game losing streak and must now travel to Milwaukee for a 3 game series against the division leading Brewers.
Cincinnati hasn’t provided a clear timetable for when Reds fans could expect to see their star 2nd baseman back in action. However manager David Bell did indicate that India hasn’t been able “to go full speed” as of yet.
While it doesn’t appear as though there’s any structural damage to the leg, hamstring injuries can linger anywhere from days to weeks, especially when compounded by a demanding MLB schedule.
In the two games India has sat out, the Reds have used both Brandon Drury and Matt Reynolds at 2nd base. The team also recalled IF/OF Alejo Lopez in a corresponding move.
Reds fans have endured a tumultuous offseason that saw them ship off franchise players Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker as part of a tear down following a year where they just missed out on the final NL Wildcard spot. All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos also walked in free agency, electing instead to sign a 5 year/$100M contract with the Phillies.
Ownership then further drew the ire of the Cincinnati faithful when team president Phil Castellini told local news outlet WLW “Where you gonna go? Let’s start there. I mean sell the team to who? If you want to look at what would you do with this team to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists, it would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. So be careful what you ask for. I think we’re doing the best we can do with the resources that we have.”
The Castellini’s would later walk back the statement by attempting to assure fans they hadn’t abandoned the team, and that the franchise “wasn’t going anywhere”. However, the ordeal left more than a few Cincy fans miffed about the state of the franchise.
Only 140 more games to go Reds fans.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.