The Cincinnati Reds are calling up outfielder Gabriel Guerrero according to Jason Linden of Redleg Nation. He tweeted the information after the Louisville Bats game on Sunday night ended.
Gabby Guerrero is getting called up.
— Jason Linden (@JasonLinden) September 3, 2018
On Sunday night, Gabriel Guerrero had a good night at home in Louisville. He went 4-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. It was his 19th home run of the season and his 17th with Louisville in 104 games (2 homers with Pensacola in 26 games). The big night pushed his season line in Triple-A to .292/.326/.475 with 15 doubles, 4 triples, and 17 home runs. In 104 games he drew 23 walks and he had 97 strikeouts.
What Gabriel Guerrero brings to the table can be found on both sides of the ball. There’s real pop in his bat and he can use it to all parts of the field. Defensively he fits best in right field where he’s got good range and a big time arm. But he is also capable of covering you in center field at times as a back up, and should have no issues playing left field if it’s asked of him.
Offensively, Gabriel Guerrero can be a bit overaggressive at the plate. You can see that in the fact that he’s walked just 30 times this season in 130 games and he’s struck out 123 times. That’s not the most ideal strikeout-to-walk ratio. But he’s a guy who uses the whole field, and has some thunder in his bat. If you’re looking for a guy on your bench, rather than someone to anchor into your every day lineup, that will work just fine as long as he can keep a similar ratio and continue to show some pop. Toss in the defensive abilities and Guerrero looks like a rather useful piece as a 4th or 5th outfield type.
Earlier in the day the Reds traded Preston Tucker back to the Atlanta Braves for future cash considerations. His time away from the Braves organization was short lived, just over a month. That cleared a spot on the Cincinnati 40-man roster, which is going to be taken by Gabriel Guerrero when the move becomes official. What this also does is keep Guerrero in the organization. He would have been a minor league free agent following the season had he not been added to the roster.