Fastball

Cincinnati Reds Designate Former Texas Rangers Prospect Bubba Thompson For Assignment

In order to rearrange their bullpen, the Cincinnati Reds had to bump outfielder Bubba Thompson off of their 40-man roster, further demoting the once-promising prospect.
Sam Connon|
Apr 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds outfielder Bubba Thompson (12) hits a double against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park.
Apr 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds outfielder Bubba Thompson (12) hits a double against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park. | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

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Cincinnati RedsTexas Rangers

The Cincinnati Reds have designated outfielder Bubba Thompson for assignment, the team announced Thursday.

Cincinnati bumped Thompson off of their 40-man roster in order to make room for right-handed pitcher Brett Kennedy, whose contract they selected from Triple-A Louisville. Kennedy was taking the place of right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan on the active 26-man roster, as Pagan was placed on the 15-day injured list with right tricep tightness.

Thompson had already been sent down to the minors on May 7. Now, the offseason addition will hit the waiver wire and either get traded, accept a minor league assignment or enter free agency.

Thompson earned just 18 at-bats in 17 games before he got optioned, batting .111 with five stolen bases, a .278 OPS and a -0.3 WAR. Across nine games and 37 plate appearances with Double-A Chattanooga, the 25-year-old was batting .200 with one home run, three RBI, two stolen bases and a .558 OPS.

However, Thompson was once a first round pick and top-five prospect in the Texas Rangers' farm system, and his recent movement suggests he may draw more interest than his production would typically warrant.

Thompson took longer to reach the big leagues than initially expected, and most of his hype had faded by the time he made his MLB debut in 2022. Still, he hit .265 with a .614 OPS as a rookie, and he made Texas' Opening Day roster in 2023.

From there, though, Thompson fell out of favor with the Rangers, batting .170 in his first 37 games of the season. He got sent down and eventually designated for assignment, which led to the speedster getting passed around between the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and Reds over a six-month span.

Thompson spent about half of the 2022 and 2023 seasons in Triple-A, batting .284 with 19 home runs, 82 RBI, 76 stolen bases and a .787 OPS across 145 games.

While his recent stats in Double-A didn't approach those figures, Thompson can still provide a team with decent organizational depth. His speed translates to the big leagues, too, going 27-for-32 on stolen base attempts in 109 MLB appearances.

Thompson's fate will be decided at some point in the next seven days.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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