The suspension of the MLB season put a screeching halt to the excitement that stemmed from the Cincinnati Reds’ offseason moves.
The Reds dedicated nearly $166 million to four free agents (OF Shogo Akiyama, OF Nick Castellanos, LHP Wade Miley, and 2B Mike Moustakas) by the end of January, but that number would be overshadowed by COVID-19 on the league’s original start date of March 26.
Four months later, Major League Baseball is set to resume and the Reds will open their 60-game sprint to the postseason on July 24 when they welcome the Detroit Tigers.
Second-year Red Sonny Gray was tabbed by manager David Bell to take the mound on Friday night. Gray earned his second career All-Star selection in 2019 as he accumulated an 11-8 record and a 2.87 ERA. He finished seventh in the National League’s CY Young voting.
Cincinnati announced its Opening Day roster on Thursday. LHP Brooks Raley and OF Travis Jankowski were among several intriguing names added to the 30-man roster, while OF Aristedes Aquino was left off and RHP Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Opposing Gray will be Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd, who allowed the second-most home runs in baseball last year with 39. Boyd has pitched once at Great American Ballpark in 2018, where he allowed five runs in four innings and a grand slam to Joey Votto.
New outfielder Nick Castellanos is familiar with the Tigers. Before the season, he agreed with Cincinnati to a four-year deal worth $64 million with opt-outs after the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Castellanos spent his first six seasons with Detroit before being traded to the Chicago Cubs last season, where he would finish a historic campaign. He totaled 58 doubles, which was good enough for the 10th-most in a single season.
Speaking of the deadline, Aug. 31 is the date for this shortened season. The Reds will have to come to a decision quickly on being buyers or sellers, seeing as they will have played 37 games by that point. Cincinnati has several players set to enter free agency at the end of the 2020 season, including Trevor Bauer, Anthony DeSclafani and Freddy Galvis.
The Reds will open the season with a three-game weekend series against Detroit before welcoming the Chicago Cubs for a four-game series at home. First pitch of the 2020 season is at 6:10 EST on Friday, July 24.
