The Reds announced this morning that they’ve designated outfielder Jake Fraley for assignment. Outfielder Will Benson was recalled to replace Fraley on the active roster. Right-hander Connor Phillips was also recalled to the MLB roster after the club optioned southpaw Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A last night.
Fraley, 30, began his career with the Mariners and was shipped to Cincinnati as part of the trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Seattle. Since making his Reds debut in 2022, Fraley has been a roughly league average bat for the club. He’s hit .260/.336/.421 (105 wRC+) in 362 games for the club over the past four seasons and has never posted a wRC+ below 96 over a full season. He’s proven to be a solid baserunner as well, with 20-steal campaigns in both 2023 and ’24, though his defense has left him mostly limited to being a middling defender in the outfielder corners.
The biggest flaw in Fraley’s game is his massive platoon split, however. He’s virtually unplayable against lefties, with a .187/.263/.260 (44 wRC+) slash line against southpaws in 137 plate appearances during his time with the Reds. That’s offset by his solid .269/.346/.441 (113 wRC+) line against right-handed pitchers, of course, but Fraley is also in a 1-for-17 slump since the start of August and is hitting a lackluster .226/.305/.377 (83 wRC+) dating all the way back to June 20. That’s not substantially better than Benson, who sports an 80 wRC+ in 201 plate appearances this year. Perhaps the Reds are hoping that giving Benson opportunities down the stretch will get him into position to take over Fraley’s role as a left-handed platoon outfielder for 2026, when Fraley would’ve been due a raise on his $3.125MM salary for 2025 via arbitration and likely found himself non-tendered come November.
As for Phillips, the righty was once a consensus top-100 prospect but suffered a brutal season at Triple-A last year as he walked 15.3% of his opponents in 19 starts. He’s converted to relief this year and done better for himself with a 2.84 ERA in 38 innings, though his 14.6% walk rate remains elevated. He’s made just four appearances at the big league level this year but will now get an opportunity to try and harness his high-octane stuff as the Reds shuffle out La Sorsa, who surrendered a three-run homer to infielder Andruw Monasterio in the 11th inning of yesterday’s brutal 6-5 loss to Milwaukee.