The Reds announced this morning that they have designated infielder Garrett Hampson for assignment. Outfielder Rece Hinds was recalled to the major league roster in a corresponding move. In addition, the Reds have pulled third baseman Jeimer Candelario off of his rehab assignment.
Hampson, 30, signed a big league deal with the Reds last month. He worked with Cincinnati in a bench role and appeared in just nine games across his Reds tenure, going 3-for-18 with a double, a walk, and six strikeouts while splitting time between second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and center field. That versatility is what’s kept Hampson on big league rosters for parts of eight MLB seasons. A third-round pick by the Rockies back in 2016, he made his big league debut in 2018 and hit well in a brief cup of coffee. It was a strong enough debut to put him on the map as a top-100 prospect headed into the 2019 season, but his offensive numbers did not hold up over a larger sample size. Hampson ultimately hit just .233/.292/.369 from 2019 to 2022 as a member of the Rockies before he was non-tendered during the 2022-23 offseason.
He signed with the Marlins after getting cut loose in Colorado and went on to enjoy the best season of his career in Miami. In 98 games with the club that year, Hampson thrived in a part-time role as he slashed a roughly league average .276/.349/.380 in 252 trips to the plate while playing all around the diamond in his typical utility capacity. That performance was enough to get him a big league deal from the Royals last year, but he’s unfortunately regressed to his previous light-hitting form since leaving Miami. In 140 games for Kansas City, Arizona, and Cincinnati the past two years, he’s hit just .218/.282/.280 and struck out at a 25.8% clip. The Reds will now have one week to either trade Hampson or try to pass him through outright waivers, though he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Hampson’s departure makes room on the roster for Hinds, who made his MLB debut last year. He made a big first impression last year when he crushed five homers in just 24 games, but has hit just .158/.200/.526 (86 wRC+) this year in seven big league games with ten strikeouts in 20 plate appearances. Overall, he’s a career .231/.296/.662 (150 wRC+) hitter despite a massive 36.6% strikeout rate in the majors. Hinds’s huge power numbers could give the Reds a threatening bench bat for their outfield mix going forward if he can rein in his contact issues a bit more going forward.
Cincinnati also announced today that Candelario has been pulled off his rehab assignment. The 31-year-old has been on the injured list since late April due to a back injury but had appeared in 15 games for Triple-A Louisville since beginning a rehab assignment on June 5. It’s unclear exactly what caused the Reds to pull Candelario off his rehab assignment, though it’s worth noting that he was approaching the 20-day limit for rehabbing position players that would’ve forced the club to activate him when reached. Candelario was hitting a brutal .113/.198/.213 across 91 plate appearances before being placed on the shelf.