The Journeyman has hung up another jersey.
The Cincinnati Reds made a whopping seven moves on Sept. 19. They placed outfielder Harrison Vader on the disabled list, transferred right-hander Graham Ashcraft to the 60-day disabled list to remove him from the 40-man roster, and optioned right-hander Carson Spier to Triple-A with a minor league option. Signed right-hander Connor Phillips to a major league contract and activated outfielder Stuart Fairchild and left-hander Alex Young from the disabled list.
Ashcraft was not originally on the big league roster. With three players in the big leagues, one more had to make room. That was outfielder Hunter Renfroe. Cincinnati designated Renfroe for assignment (DFA) to make room on the major league roster. Renfroe’s stint in Cincinnati, which began two days ago, lasted just 18 days.
There were no excuses. In 14 games in a Cincinnati uniform, Renfroe hit just .128/.227/.205 with one home run and four RBIs. Keeping a hitter with an OPS of just .432 was overkill. Cincinnati’s move made sense, and Renfroe was gone.
It was his second DFA in about three years. There’s no excuse for the performance, but it’s been a rather harsh time for Renfroe.
The 1992-born outfielder had a lot of promise. After being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 31st round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of high school, Renfroe opted to go to college, and three years later, he was a first-rounder in the draft again. He was selected 13th overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and was quickly recognized as a “TOP 100” prospect.
After a successful minor league career, Renfroe got his first taste of the big leagues in 2016 and became a full-fledged big leaguer in 2017. After hitting .231/.284/.467 with 26 home runs and 58 RBIs in 122 games in his rookie season, Renfroe, who lacked finesse and vision but had proven power, took a step forward in 2018. He hit .248/.302/.504 with 26 homers and 68 RBIs in 117 games in 2018, well above league average, and in 2019 he hit .216/.289/.489 with 33 homers and 64 RBIs in 140 games, reaching the 30-homer plateau for the first time in his career. 안전놀이터
Renfroe was San Diego’s most prolific home run hitter over a three-year span from 2017-2019. His 85 home runs over the three years were tied for 30th in the majors, along with Gary Sanchez and Mookie Betts. But after the 2019 season, Renfroe’s career took a major turn.
After investing heavily in the organization with the acquisition of Manny Machado and the debut of Fernando Tatis Jr. They sent Renfroe to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jake Cronenwirth and Tommy Pham. It was the beginning of the end for the Journeyman.
In 42 short-season games with his new team, Renfroe hit .156/.252/.393 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.