Cincinnati Reds Make Ridiculous Decision Ahead of Series vs Chicago Cubs

An unserious franchise does yet another not-serious thing. As the lineup for Friday's game at Great American Ball Park was released on social media, fans' eyes all stopped at one spot. Batting third, in center field.... Spencer Steer?

In case you're wondering, Steer hasn't played center field in college at Oregon, the Minor Leagues with either the Twins or Reds organizations, or, obviously, in the Major Leagues. Simply put, what are they doing?

The Reds continue to put band-aids on ineptitude in bringing in outfielders to the big league club. Last week, Matt McLain took his turn playing center for a few games before being placed on the IL on Friday to make room for Ke'Bryan Hayes returning to the team.

Now, someone will point out that Steer has MLB outfield experience, which experience and success are two very different things in this circumstance. Steer has played both corner outfield positions this season, and has a -11 outs above average rating in the corners. Again, we ask, what are we doing?

Someone will come around and say, "This is why Elly De La Cruz needs to be in center field." Stop. It's not going to happen, and it shouldn't. Move along.

This is not a Spencer Steer issue by any means. Steer is well respected for being willing to play anywhere his team needs him, and that is certainly admirable, but this comes back yet again to another Nick Krall and Brad Meador issue. Reds fans have been asking for the organization to go get good outfielders for years, and the front office refuses to do so because they "like the guys they've got." They like them to the point of, maybe we will ruin their careers because we're going to change their assignment every chance they get. (see Senzel, Nick).

"Well, we don't have better options." But they do! Noelvi Marte is far from a great outfielder, but he is athletic enough and has also played a few games in center field for the Reds and in Triple-A. Yes, it's only 24 total innings, but that's 24 more than Steer. TJ Friedl has been a disaster for the team this year, and you can justify him not getting at-bats over Steer by all accounts, but guess what position he plays? You guessed it, center field.

I understand that Dane Myers, Blake Dunn, and now Matt McLain are all on the IL, but the Reds' decision is shameful, and it's pretty embarrassing, in all honesty. It shows just how inept a franchise they are.

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