Reds will not have Aristides Aquino on MLB roster after stunning decision

The Cincinnati Reds will start 2020 without Aristides Aquino.

Apparently breaking home run records during your first full month of action in the MLB wasn’t enough for Aristides Aquino to make the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, as the logjam in the outfield has left the Dominican on the outside looking in.

Aquino has been optioned to the “alternate” summer campsite, which is all but confirming that he will not be with the big-league club when the season starts up in less than a week.

Aristides Aquino had a dominant month of August in 2019.

Aquino, nicknamed “The Punisher”, lived up to the moniker during 2019. He hit just .259, but he mashed an absurd 19 home runs in 56 games, all the while hitting 14 home runs in the month of August. Hitting 14 dingers in one month set both an NL rookie record and a Reds franchise record. He became the first player in MLB history to hit 11 home runs, nearly all of which were moonshots that left fans in awe of his power, during his first 17 games.

The presence of Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker in the outfield, coupled with the signings of Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama, meant that Aquino might have struggled to see consistent playing time. However, the implementation of the DH seemed like a perfect place for Aquino to slide into the lineup given his still improving defensive range. Instead, the Reds seem to prefer a veteran touch at that spot rather than the promising young slugger Aquino is.

While the Reds were a bad team last year, and Aquino numbers need to be qualified with the fact they came on a team out of the wild card race with nothing to fight for, his production as a rookie has never been equaled in MLB history. Cincinnati blocking him from playing with the big-league club is extremely insulting given the year he had.