Indian manager Terry Francona announced this morning that Cleveland has played a veteran player Mike Freeman to the Reds (Twitter link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com). Cincinnati sent cash to Cleveland to complete the smaller exchange, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Freeman was in camp with Cleveland as a non-roster guest, and he will not be going to the 40s from Cincinnati at the moment.
The 33-year-old Freeman has spent the past two seasons with Cleveland, working as a handyman and placing a combined .270 / .352 / .377 batting through 256 trips to the board. He spent during that time on all four inner spots and in both corners, although most of his work was as a second and a third man. Freeman does not offer much power and has a fairly limited MLB record, but he is a .304 / .369 / .418 career with a good pass rate and running rates in parts of six Triple-A seasons.
Freeman has been fighting for a spot in Cleveland, and he will give the Reds another option to try and figure out who will get playing time on shortstop this year. He has a 1901 career innings at the position between the minors and the major leagues, although he has not played semi-regular base there since the 2018 series at the Cubs’ Triple-A partner.
Still, Freeman gives the Reds at least one possible option to handle the position. Right now it seems like the favorite for playing time at shortstop Kyle Farmer, Kyle Holder and non-roster veteran Dee Strange-Gordon. In the long run, hope is the best prospect Jose Garcia can handle the place, but the 22-year-old looks overwhelming in his first taste of MLB action last year, hitting just .194 / .206 / .194 in 68 record appearances.
In Cleveland, Freeman’s departure lends some clarity to the domestic mix. Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario fights for the start of representatives at shortstop, and if Gimenez wins, it will apparently push Rosario off the bench in the field / outside field. Yu Chang can join him as a utility from the bank. If the club decides to send Gimenez to the minors to start the year, Rosario is likely to take the reins, with Chang serving as primary back-up on the home side.