Who should be the Reds backup shortstop?

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In the wake of the Reds June 28 roster release, there has been discussion on their plans for backing up shortstop Freddy Galvis. The modified season and expanded roster gives a handful of players a higher chance to see major league innings. There are five legitimate options between the two summer camp rosters, all with differing levels of experience and skill. Alex Blandino and Kyle Farmer both made Cincinnati’s 35 man GABP roster, with Christian Colon, Alfredo Rodriguez, and Jose Garcia waiting in the wings of Prasco Park. Let’s look at the five candidates in terms of experience, statistics and major league readiness.

Alex Blandino

Alex Blandino is one of the players who I picked to be cut from the initial 35 man roster the Reds released, but he still makes a case to be the backup shortstop. A former first round pick from Stanford in 2014, Blandino has played 92 Major League games over the past two seasons.

Shortstop is the one of two positions where the Reds seem comfortable conceding some offense for improved defense. This complicates Blandino’s fit as the backup shortstop, as he has played shortstop only 11 times in his 92 Major League appearances, all of which came in 2018. Over those 11 appearances, Blandino had two errors in 34 total chances, but he was rated 1.0 Out Above Average via Statcast. Blandino made 18 appearances at shortstop for Louisville in 2019, committing four errors in 70 total chances. This doesn’t come as a surprise as Blandino is graded as a below average arm by Baseball Prospectus.

At the plate, Blandino has an improved approach but does not offer high-end offensive upside. In 2018 he hit .234/.324/.289 in 147 Major League plate appearances. In 50 MLB plate appearances in 2019, the 27-year-old improved his exit velocity (86.2 to 90.1), launch angle (8.3 to 12.4), wOBA (.279 to .345) and walk rate (8.8% to 19.6%). This improvement, paired with a .386 OBP in 293 appearances with Louisville, showed Blandino’s patience at the plate, which would be welcome considering Freddy Galvis’ career .291 OBP.

With limited experience playing shortstop at the Major League level and minimal offensive output, it’s unlikely Alex Blandino ultimately wins the backup shortstop job. He is still a valuable player for this Reds team, however, as his defensive versatility and walk-rate make him a solid depth option.

Jose Garcia

In February, Steven Ortlieb detailed the underrating of Jose Garcia. Garcia’s rise over the past year has seen him emerge as the shortstop of the future.

At just 22 years old, Garcia hasn’t played a season higher than A+, where he was last season with Daytona. He began his ascent up prospect boards in 2019 hitting .280/.343/.436 in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. Garcia followed his breakout season with a 2020 spring training where he flashed power.

Jose Garcia doesn't care which way the wind is blowing in Tempe.

The @Reds No. 9 prospect bashes his second homer of the game.pic.twitter.com/DLxrCGa7OD

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) February 26, 2020

In all, Garcia hit four home runs in 30 plate appearances. Baseball Reference’s Opponent Quality rating for Garcia’s spring training was 7.0, or the equivalent of a player who played AA last year. This rating sheds some light on why Garcia is not quite ready to take the backup shortstop job. The organization likely wants him to face more quality pitching, and he is better off playing simulated games at Prasco Park for the upcoming year.

The case for Garcia is his intriguing power potential and plus fielding. FanGraphs gave him 60 fielding and 70 throwing grades on their 80 grade scale. In a spring training mailbag, Mark Sheldon noted, “he remains a pretty slick-fielding shortstop with a great arm.” Barry Larkin did voice concern about Garcia’s size when talking about his future at shortstop, but the Reds seem intent on him sticking at the position. Statcast’s scouting report says Garcia has “more than enough arm, enough range, above average athleticism and plenty of agility.”

While we hope to see Jose Garcia take over as the full-time shortstop in Cincinnati, it’s too early to give him the backup job. It was an encouraging sign to see Garcia on the 60-man Summer Camp roster and the organization will be able to aid his development without Minor League Baseball in 2020.

Christian Colon

Formerly a top-5 overall pick, Christian Colon signed as a free agent with the Reds in December 2018. Colon re-signed in November, 2019, giving him the opportunity to fight for the backup shortstop and utility infielder spot.

Of all the Reds options to be the backup shortstop, Colon certainly has the most experience at the position at age 31. Although he has only played 27 of his 150 Major League games at shortstop, he’s logged 376 games as a shortstop in the Minor Leagues. With over 400 total appearances fielding the position, there is a sense of comfort having him as a safety net. Even with the experience, his arm comes in below average. Colon’s arm strength was graded as a 44 out of 100 by Fans Scouting Report from 2014-16.

Colon had his best professional season last year in Louisville, producing .300/.372/.443, while hitting 37 doubles and stealing 24 bases. The Reds rewarded him for his success, giving Colon an 8-game cameo with the big club in September. In eight plate appearances, Colon had three hits.

Despite Christian Colon’s .256/.321/.318 career at the plate, he does provide value due to his experience. Not only does Colon have the most experience playing shortstop, he was also a member of the 2015 Kansas City Royals, where he won a World Series. Between his experience and versatility to play three infield positions, it’s not hard to see why Colon was included on the 60-man Summer Camp roster. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play for the Reds this year and fans should be comfortable if he is.

Alfredo Rodriguez

The Reds signed Alfredo Rodriguez in 2016 with a $7 million bonus. Since then the Cuban has worked his way up to AAA Louisville as of last August. Consensus on the 26-year-old Rodriguez is that he touts a major league ready glove, but leaves much to be desired at the plate.

Rodriguez’s disparity between hitting and fielding can be seen most easily in MLB Pipeline’s scouting grades of the shortstop. His fielding grade is 70 out of 80 with an arm grade of 60, while Rodriguez comes in at 40 in hitting and 30 in power. Statcast’s scouting report says Rodriguez is a “superior defender, with great hands, arms and range.” FanGraphs says he “could play a perfectly fine big-league shortstop tomorrow if asked.”

In three full seasons in the Reds minor league system, Rodriguez lived up to expectations with .267/.314/.327 production in 2019. Rodriguez was beginning to find a rhythm in AA Chattanooga (.286/.325/.347), but struggled with the jump to AAA pitching (.169/.261/.221). In the earlier aborted 2020 spring training, Rodriguez was beginning to reshape Reds decision makers opinions.

“Alfredo Rodriguez is having a great spring,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He’s just a lot more comfortable this year. He played fine last year in spring training, but we know he can play. We know how solid he is at short. He’s showing he can do damage with the bat too. Good player.” (Bobby Nightengale)

Cincinnati has not been afraid to sacrifice hitting for fielding at short (à la Jose Iglesias and to a certain extent Freddy Galvis) in recent history. This bodes well for Alfredo Rodriguez’s chances to see the field in the modified season. The Reds will likely want to continue to develop his bat at Prasco Park. But if injury occurs Rodriguez could easily be used as a stopgap as the best fielding option of the lot.

Kyle Farmer

In February, David Kelley wrote about Kyle Farmer’s role as the Reds ultimate utility man and how he will fit into the roster.

Despite being listed as the Reds third catcher on the 35 man roster and only logging one inning at short in 2019 (and his entire major league career), Kyle Farmer is in effect the current backup shortstop for the Reds. At age 29, Farmer may not have major league experience at short, but he was a four-year starter at the position as a Georgia Bulldog. Even further, manager David Bell has gone on the record expressing his confidence in Farmer at the position.

As far as fielding efficiency, Farmer holds the Georgia record for fielding percentage at shortstop with .968 in 1,045 total chances. He also had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage when playing 75.1 innings at short in the Dodgers minor league system. When it comes to arm strength, Baseball Prospectus grades Farmer as an average, but accurate arm.

Farmer hit .230/.279/.410 last season in just under 200 plate appearances. Farmer provided pop, with an above average .180 ISO and 17.7 launch angle, but struggled with plate discipline. His 30.3 K%, 5.1 BB%, and 37.9 Chase % are all worse than league average.

Kyle Farmer will be the backup shortstop in Cincinnati for the time being thanks to his around-the-horn versatility and sufficient defensive and offensive output. His small sample size as a shortstop and a major league hitter are not enough to deter the Reds who are confident Farmer can fill in anywhere needed.

Conclusion

The Reds’ options for backing up Freddy Galvis possess varying levels of experience and skill. Kyle Farmer is the de facto second stringer on the roster, even with his lack of recent reps at the position. If injury occurs, we could see Alex Blandino and/or Christian Colon at shortstop with more major league experience or Alfredo Rodriguez step in as a defensive fill in. Jose Garcia is most likely the last option of this group to see major league innings this season. While he projects as the solution of the future, the Reds will want him to develop more at Prasco Park.

[Featured image: https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1059851570391777282/photo/1]