GOODYEAR, AZ – When Christian Encarnacion-Strand was optioned out of the Cincinnati Reds’ big-league spring training camp this week, it offered just the latest reminder of how the best laid schemes of mice and baseball often can go awry.
In other words, a reminder of how non-linear, usually unpredictable, player development is in the sport.
“We all know baseball. It’s a game of failures,” Encarnacion-Strand said, even before the first spring training cut of his career since making his big-league debut in 2023.
Encarnacion-Strand, 26, was part of that heralded group of rookies to debut for the Reds that year – a group headlined by Elly De La Cruz that also included Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson and Noelvi Marte.
Four of those six are expected to be in the Reds’ lineup for the March 26 opener, including Abbott making his first Opening Day start.
Encarnacion-Strand, the first baseman with some of the biggest power on the 40-man roster, has plenty of time in his career to rebound from a snake-bitten two seasons that included a broken thumb/wrist that cost him all but the first six weeks of the 2024 season and a shorter-term back injury last year and underperformance that cost him an option to the minors.
Since then, the promising 2023 prospect who inspired visions of succeeding Joey Votto at first with 40-homer seasons, watched Spencer Steer become a Gold Glove finalist at the position, saw Sal Stewart make a powerful debut down the stretch and into October, and then watched the Reds add old-pal slugger Eugenio Suárez in the offseason to share first base and DH duties for a team expected to make the playoffs this year.
It doesn’t take a genius or even Tony La Russa to know what that meant for CES and the roster numbers in camp this spring.
“Yeah, but they’re good ballplayers,” he said. “Sal’s a really good ballplayer. He can hit; he can play defense. And everyone knows Geno. He crushes the ball.
“It’s good for the team. I don’t have any bad feelings toward it,” he added. I’m happy that Sal is playing to his abilities, because he’s a good ballplayer, and he’s got a huge future ahead of him. And we know Geno. He smashes the ball. I’m happy that the team is trending in that direction.”
For Encarnacion-Strand, a crossroads spring meant a crosshairs roster predicament from the outset. He went 5-for-15 with a pair of doubles in six games this spring but with no clear path to a big-league job in camp.
He’ll go to the minor-league side and load up on playing time the rest of the spring, which could put him in position for an opportunity if needed by the Reds during the season.
“The big things we’ve talked to him about is we’re not trying to turn him into an on-base machine, but if we can get him to swing at pitches over the plate that he can handle, he’s strong enough that he can go (deep) pole to pole,” manager Terry Francona said after Monday’s cuts. “That’s the goal. I thought he actually did a pretty good job this spring. Therewasn’t going to be probably enough at-bats.”
As likely as anything, CES could be living the old baseball axiom that every time a player takes the field he’s playing for everyone, with eyes of scouts across the league paying attention.
Already, this is a slugger who in 128 career big-league games has four walk-off hits, including two home runs, and streaks of three consecutive games with homers in both 2023 and 2025.
He batted .270 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI in 63 games in that 2023 debut season.
“I guess that’s a possibility,” he said. “But I don’t look into that. I play for the Reds. I want to perform for the Reds. That’s what I’m trying to do, be my best for the Reds. At the end of the day, I can’t control anything else. I don’t even really think about those other things.”
That’s where understanding that other baseball truism – about it being a game of failures – comes into play.
“I will do my best to do everything the right way to keep my body healthy,” he said. “Swing at strikes, play baseball to my ability and try to maintain my body to try to stay away from injuries. That’s what I can control.”
The things out of his control since that impressive 2023 debut were “pretty frustrating,” especially the season-long injury that cost valuable developmental time and playing time in 2024.
“I can’t control the injuries,” he said. “At this point it is what it is. I’ve just got to go out there and try to perform.
“I don’t think anything should be handed to me. “I’ve got to go earn it.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: From Joey Votto’s heir apparent to Triple-A, Reds’ CES keeps battling
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
