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Home , Bronson Arroyo, Great American Ball Park, Manager (baseball), Michael Lorenzen, Sal Romano

Reds Press Clippings February 7, 2017

THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1936-Reds players and officials sail from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico for . They will open spring training on February 10th 1942 - The stir the hometown fans by selling popular to the Boston Braves, where he will win the title this season with a .330 average. MLB.COM Improved pitching depth key for Reds in 2017 DeSclafani set to anchor rotation, while options abound By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon

CINCINNATI -- For the Reds to have any hope of taking a much-needed step forward to transition from rebuilding in 2017, there must be a big difference from the makeup of the '16 team.

As it often does, it all comes down to pitching. Reds manager believes he has enoug h of it in '17 to have more success.

"I'm not looking at 2017 to be a replay of 2016, because we say it's a rebuild," Price said. "I'm looking for 2017 to be a significant improvement over 2016. In order to do that, you have to have pitching depth in the rotation and bullpen. I think we've satisfied some of those issues we had last year. Now we have to stay healthy."

Beset by injuries and a lack of experienced depth, Reds ranked 14th out of 15 National League teams last season with a 4.91 ERA as the team went 68-94. They also smashed a Major League record by allowing 258 home runs. The rotation provided the fewest amount of innings in the Majors, while the bullpen led all of in homers and walks allowed and hit batsmen.

Cincinnati expects to have a healthy in Anthony DeSclafani, who didn't debut until late June last year. is believed to be healthy and all the way back from Tommy John surgery. Brandon Finnegan worked 172 innings in his first full year as a starter in '16 and is expected to keep developing. After general manager took advantage of Dan Straily's peak value and flipped him for three prospects in a trade with the Marlins, free agent and ground-ball-inducer was signed to pick up the innings and add a veteran presence.

The fifth spot will be a wide-open battle with some talented young arms competing, including power pitchers Cody Reed, Robert Stephenson, and Sal Romano. Tim Adleman, formerly from independent baseball, showed he can handle the Majors, and soon-to-be 40-year-old Bronson Arroyo will be in camp as a non-roster invitee to see if he has anything left after missing two years with arm injuries.

Among the prospects, those who lose out on a rotation spot could still make the team as a reliever.

Pitchers and have their first workout on Feb. 14 and the first full-squad workout at the club's Spring Training home in Goodyear, Ariz., is Feb. 17.

"If we become a better team because they spent half a season or a season in the bullpen, let's have a better team and let them get experience pitching out of the bullpen," Price said. "It doesn't mean they will never start again."

Frankly, it's a bullpen that can only improve in '17. It got a potential boost with free agent Drew Storen, who signed a one-year, $3 million contract with added incentives. Storen had a career-high 43 saves with the Nationals in '11, but isn't necessarily the .

Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Tony Cingrani and Storen could be the closer on any given day. Iglesias and Lorenzen -- previously starters -- provided an instant boost when they returned from injuries in June and worked out of the bullpen, sometimes pitching up to three innings.

"We're going to try and do a lot of things that I think a lot of people took notice of in the playoffs and ," Price said. "It was something that we were doing in the back-third of our season and we'll continue to do that. We'll be able to utilize a that can throw multiple innings late in the game, set up or close."

Williams believed strongly in the pitching upgrades his club will have.

"We think that getting players healthy, young guys coming up and some investments in players from the outside," he said, "tho se three things will improve our pitching dramatically from last year."

Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05. Follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

Mesoraco aiming to bounce back from injuries Catcher limited to 18 starts behind plate over past two seasons Mesoraco aiming to bounce back from injuries By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- With one week left before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, general manager Dick Williams still might have another transaction or two left to make.

While one of those transactions was expected to be the addition of catching depth as a contingency for the rehabilitating Devin Mesoraco, signing a catcher to a Minor League deal before camp seems unlikely.

"I don't know if we'll know anything definitive on Devin until he gets on the field and in games," Williams said. "We continu e to be encouraged by what we're seeing in the rehab process. He's taking batting practice. He's doing catching drills. We haven't had any setbacks there. I think the next step is getting him into games and seeing how he responds to games."

Mesoraco had right hip and left shoulder surgeries in 2016 and left hip surgery in 2015. He's been limited to 18 starts behind the plate the past two seasons.

Devin Mesoraco sees Darin Ruf attempting to steal and throws him out at second to end the top of the 9th inning

The Reds will have six catchers in camp this spring, including Mesoraco, and Rule 5 selection Stuart Turner on the 40-man roster. Barnhart stepped up and took on the regular catching duties last season and would do likewise this season, if the re is a need.

"I don't see any major signing there," Williams said. "We'll just have to see how [Mesoraco] responds and whether or not we h ave enough guys to cover the issues. We'll have to assess how a guy like Turner performs, how Tucker's health is and how he's performing before we add more guys. Hopefully Devin will have a good spring and we'll be off and running."

Williams did not rule out other moves being made.

"We still have a spot or two in camp," he said. "We're still looking to see what need is most importan t, but we're down to the last spot or two."

The Reds are still working to sign former Rays Desmond Jennings to a Minor League contract with a camp invite.

"We're close on that," Williams said.

As for pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who agreed to a Minor League contract and camp invite on Thursday to compete for a rotation spot, the deal isn't official just yet.

"It's more of a matter of logistics and getting the paperwork done," Williams said. "He's already out there. It will take a c ouple of days to get that physically signed."

Truck Day creates buzz for new season Reds' gear heading west as Spring Training workouts approach Mr. Redlegs helps load the Reds' Spring Training truck bound for Goodyear, Ariz. By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- When exactly 13,104 are loaded onto a large truck parked inside the bowels of Great American Ball Park, it can really mean just one thing. Reds' Spring Training is about to arrive because that truck is headed west to Goodye ar, Ariz.

Truck Day was another smooth operation on Monday morning. Pallets loaded with equipment, suitcases, office supplies, medical and training staff supplies, video and computer equipment, kitchen and food items and more all went into the 53-foot trailer without complication.

Joining the baseballs in the truck are 1,000 bats, 160 buckets of bubble gum, 120 batting helmets and 100 cases of sunflower seeds.

The process was overseen by Rick Stowe, the Reds' vice president of home clubhouse operations. Stowe and his staff have b een preparing for weeks to have everything organized and ready at the loading dock for Monday.

"We have the bare necessities at our facility that kind of allows us to be as efficient as possible," home clubhouse assistan t Tony Walter said. "We don't have to take the amount that we used to. But there's a lot of stuff that we need to get out there."

In addition to baseball needs, personal ones were also handled by the staff. There will be portable cribs, toys and a tricycle also going on the truck.

"It's a lot of family stuff. There are a lot of families. Everybody comes with us sometimes," Walter said. "It's pretty tame this yea r. We've had boats, motorcycles, scooters, all sorts of random and unique stuff. This year, it's pretty much all business."

The truck is set to depart Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon and scheduled to arrive at the Reds' player development complex in Arizona on Friday morning. The three-day drive will cover 1,825 miles. Stowe, Walter and the rest of the clubhouse crew will be in Arizona ahead of the truck to be ready to unload.

"It's kind of the official start to it," Walter said. "There's no countdown like there is for , but for us, this is kind of ground zero, Day 1. This is when it all starts. We look forward to it."

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER The science and math that will up the statue Carol Motsinger , [email protected] 11:42 a.m. ET Feb. 6, 2017

This actually all started with a one-sentence solution.

It sounded like this.

"Oh, I can help with that," Brent Tholke said.

This was back during the MLB All-Star Game here in July 2015. Back when Tholke just walked over to chat with sculptor , to swap notes about the materials he uses for his statues of Cincinnati Reds legends at Great American Ball Park.

The talk turned quickly to the one that wasn't there yet.

"I don't know how I am going to do the next one," Tsuchiya said.

Five seconds later, Tholke made that offer to help.

That's because the next statue is not like the others in Tsuchiya's elite roster of bronze baseball heroes.

With its ambitious design, it's in a challenging league all its own.

It's Pete Rose diving head-first down a baseline.

He is, in effect, flying.

Tholke knows a thing or two about making people fly, about how to lift heavy things into the air. He's the senior technical leader of materials at GE Aviation.

Since that chance meeting, Tholke has been part of a team of artists and engineers, makers and innovators working to get Tsuchiya's design off the ground.

It's an unprecedented collaboration for Tsuchiya and his client, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum because the project presents unprecedented challenges. And it all has to be figured out before the dedication ceremony set just prior to the Reds game against the June 17.

But before they all agreed on specific solutions, they had to identify all the problems.They had to imagine all the ways that Rose could fall so they can make sure he never does.

When Tom Wallace saw the plan, he didn't see a player. This chief consulting engineer for systems at GE Aviation saw a cantilever, a beam grounded on only one end.

That's what he saw, so that's what he solved, he said.

Wallace did a calculation to determine how much stress the structure could take. How much weight could Rose's elbows, the statue's weakest place, take? How strong does the statue have to be to conquer gravity? And was this even possible?

To start, all Wallace needed, really, was the weight of the bronze statue. That's 500 pounds. He had the equation – something cryptic like "MC over I," like that makes sense – with a 500 thrown in there somewhere.

But the Rose statue is not heading to a museum or a basement. It's not behind glass. It's not behind anything.

Starting this summer, the Hit King will welcome thousands of people outside of each home game at the ball park. So Wallace ha d to factor in, well, a lot more factors.

That's more math.Time to start a spreadsheet.

First, those thousands of people we just mentioned. A number of those thousands, no matter what is said by a guard or plastered on a sign, will try to climb on top of Rose.

Wallace imagines them as linebackers. Two 300-pound guys perching on Rose's heels. So how strong does the statue have to be to conquer gravity and hold up part of a football team?

And there are all the natural factors. Things no one can control and we can't see coming.

Wallace had to factor in the wind. Earthquakes, even.

Cincinnati isn't in an earthquake-prone zone. But we've had earthquakes before, so Rose has to be ready for it.

Is this going to be the safest place in Cincinnati?

"If there is a big disaster, you want to be right here," Wallace joked, pointing toward the space below the statue's flying legs.

But figuring out the exact shape and size it needed to be is somehow only one part of the problem.

The next complication: How do you make the solutions real? What do you make the statue out of?

That's where Tholke comes in again. He's the materials expert, after all.

Tholke needed to find something – or some things – that could satisfy Wallace's calculations. A material that was strong and durable and won't corrode over time.

"I want the statue to last longer than the stadium," Tholke said.

It's not unlike how Tholke and Wallace collaborate at GE Aviation. How they build those jet engines that carry people thousan ds of feet into the sky every day.

"Durability and length of service are very critical," Tholke said. "Safety is very critical. And so what we always do is try to work with materials that overwhelm the problems," he said.

And they can't solve the problems by changing the core of the idea.

At their day jobs, "we bring vision to reality," Wallace said. "This is a great vision."

For Tsuchiya, it's a vision that's been forming for more than a decade.

One thing has never changed. Rose was always diving, always maneuvering the brazen slide that's Charlie Hustle's iconic move.

Rose, however, did make some things easier.

In real life, he is stocky and strong. He's got big arms, big shoulders, big legs.

So there is a lot of space inside the statue for the team to hide their solutions.

WCPO - Channel 9 Fay: Reds Question 3: Who closes? Storen, Iglesias, Cingrani? Price: 'I have the ability to mix and match' John Fay | WCPO contributor 9:00 AM, Feb 7, 2017

CINCINNATI -- The Reds' plan is to go with closer-by-committee. It might be Raisel Iglesias one night, Drew Storen the next and Tony Cingrani the next.

That's the theory.

But will it be reality?

Managers tend to go with the reliever who is getting the job done most consistently, and all relievers want to be the ninth -inning guy.

Storen, a 29-year-old right-hander, has the most experience as a closer. He has 98 career saves. He had 43 in 2011 and 29 in '15.

He was the Reds' biggest offseason acquisition.

And he, of course, wants to close.

"If you're in the bullpen and you don't want to close, you have no business being down there," Storen said "So many things change from spring training to Opening Day. I'm not getting paid to make those decisions. I'm getting paid to get people out. If I d o that, everything will take care of itself."

The Reds made it clear that spring training will determine roles. Bryan Price says he'll do what he did for the last two months of the season: Use the backend bullpen guys in multiple-inning situations.

But even last year, Price gravitated toward Iglesias as the season came to a close. Iglesias was basically the closer for the last month and a half, taking over for Cingrani.

Michael Lorenzen, the 25-year-old right-hander, could be in the mix to close as well. He has the best pure velocity of the backend relievers, averaging 96 mph and touching 100.

Again, Price is going in flexible.

"I have the ability to mix and match," Price said. "If it's running Lorenzen out there for the seventh and eighth and Storen's our freshest guy and he's throwing the ball great, maybe he's the guy for the ninth. It sets us up to have Iglesias two or two-plus the next day, which is a nice option."

DAYTON DAILY NEWS How fast could rise through Cincinnati Reds system? Marcus Hartman Staff Writer 5:28 p.m Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 Sports

Cincinnati Reds director of player development Jeff Graupe has good news and bad news for the team’s fans who also frequent games.

They won’t be seeing Nick Senzel at third base in Fifth Third Field this summer.

They might see the former Tennessee Volunteer with the big-league club sooner than later, though.

“There’s a history of those guys (from the SEC) being able to be challenged and moved fairly quickly, and Nick has the mental makeup to handle those types of things,” Graupe said last week when he was in Dayton to help introduce new Dragons manager Louis Bolivar.

“We’re gonna put him in the best position to succeed out of the gate, but he will be challenged throughout the year.”

Senzel took pro ball by storm last summer after the Reds took him with the No. 2 pick in the June draft.

After just 10 games in Billings (rookie ball), Senzel hit .329 with seven homers, 36 RBIs and 15 stolen bases for the Dragons .

He played 58 games in Dayton, and Graupe confirmed he will not be back in the Gem City this season, though he did not say if Senzel will start at advanced-A or jump to Double-A.

A 2017 major-league debut is probably not realistic, but he could position himself well for making it to Great American Ball Park next year.

Jumping multiple levels in a short time is not without precedent.

Jay Bruce, the Reds’ No. 1 pick in 2005, began 2007 in advanced-A ball, blew through Double-A and finished that year in Triple-A.

He made his Reds debut the following May after a torrid start at Louisville.

Senzel isn’t even 12 months into his pro career yet, but he entered the organization ahead of Bruce as a three-year college player. Bruce came straight out of high school Beaumont, Texas.

“He’s an extremely talented guy that I think will move quickly through the system,” Graupe said of Senzel. “How quickly that is will be determined by his play and his development, but he’s a guy we’re excited about.”

TRANSACTIONS 02/06/17 sent Rob Scahill outright to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. designated RHP Pat Light for assignment. Minnesota Twins claimed Ehire Adrianza off waivers from Milwaukee Brewers. signed free agent C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.