Three players—Nick Senzel, Derek Law, and Reiver SanMartin—were not selected for tender by the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. While Senzel is hardly a surprise, Law and SanMartin’s firing bodes well for the offseason.
It seems like a long time coming that Cincinnati’s Nick Senzel era would come to an end. On August 11, Senzel was demoted by the Reds to Triple-A Louisville, which seemed to be a sign of things to come. Soon after, he did make it back to the major leagues, but even that stint felt like a lame duck. With five seasons of negative Wins Above Replacement, he concludes his Reds career. Since being called up, he has only played slightly more than half of the games that he was able to.
The fact that Law and SanMartin were not tendered demonstrates the Reds’ commitment to this offseason. Having room on the 40-man roster is crucial given the changes the Reds must make. While SanMartin dealt with injuries for the majority of the 2023 season, Law was a reliable contributor out of the bullpen.
Law tossed 55 innings in 54 appearances with a 3.60 ERA. Law sported a below average strikeout rate and a worse than league average walk rate. He also was part of the problem for the bullpen in that his ground ball rate was under 40%.Law tossed 55 innings in 54 appearances with a 3.60 ERA. Law sported a below average strikeout rate and a worse than league average walk rate. He also was part of the problem for the bullpen in that his ground ball rate was under 40%.
SanMartin had a similar strikeout rate to Law and even worse walk rate. He did pitch in 14 appearances, which is more than you would have gotten me to guess. He underwent surgery to repair an ulnar collateral ligament injury on July 7th.
The Reds will look to fill the three empty 40-man roster spots with upgrades this offseason.
