Dietrich done for '19 after shoulder surgery

PITTSBURGH -- Reds utility man Derek Dietrich had arthroscopic surgery to clean out his left shoulder on Friday and will not play the final three games of the season.

Dietrich’s shoulder has bothered him for much of the second half this season. Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek, who performed the procedure in Cincinnati, found no structural damage. He is expected to fully heal and be able to have a normal offseason.

During Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Brewers, Dietrich exited the game after two at-bats when his shoulder was hurting. His season ended with him batting .187/.328/.462 with 19 homers and 43 RBIs in 113 games, which included a nearly three-week stint on the injured list because of left shoulder inflammation.

Signed to a Minor League deal in February after Spring Training opened, Dietrich initially appeared to be a fantastic bargain deal as he earned $2 million this season. He slugged 17 home runs over his first 52 games but added only two more homers over his final 61.

Dietrich’s season ended on an 0-for-21 stretch, two at-bats shy of the longest hitless stretch of his career. He is third-year arbitration eligible this winter, so the Reds’ front office will have to make a decision on whether to bring him back for 2020.

Galvis also done for 2019
Reds second baseman Freddy Galvis has been absent from the club for over a week because of illness and will not return this season. Galvis hasn’t played since leaving a Sept. 14 game at Arizona in the middle of a plate appearance when he hurt his left knee.

“He had the flu and then he had pneumonia,” Reds manager David Bell said.

Several Reds players and coaches have been felled by flu-like symptoms over the last couple of weeks, but no one as serious as Galvis.

“The weird thing is everybody had something different,” Bell said.

The Reds claimed Galvis off waivers from the Blue Jays on Aug. 12, and he immediately contributed by batting .404 with three homers over his first 13 games with Cincinnati. But then he hit a major slump while going 1-for-40 through Sept. 7 and 6-for-60 (.100) over his last 19 games.

It will be an interesting decision for the front office on whether to bring back Galvis. They have a $5.5 million club option for 2020 with a $1 million buyout. The initial thought was the natural shortstop could be insurance if pending free agent José Iglesias does not return next season. At second base, the club has potential in-house options in José Peraza and Josh VanMeter.

Exit interviews underway
With his team already eliminated from the postseason, Bell has been conducting end-of-season exit interviews with his players.

“I’m working through all of those now,” Bell said. “There are 5-10 guys that will be staying around in Cincinnati, and I will get to them next week. But some of the guys that stayed back, I made sure I got to them if they were leaving this weekend before we got back. I’m through with about half the team.”

Bell’s interviews are different than those done by previous Reds managers. Bell’s version includes meeting the player individually and then having separate meetings with the hitting coaches and the position coach.

“The reason I wanted to do it that way is just that individual time with a player, I love that. I enjoy that,” Bell said. “Not that it would take away from it, but there is a different connection when it’s not a room full of people versus one-on-one.

“It’s just really a lot of listening. I’ll get feedback on their year or things that maybe challenge them on something this offseason or going into next year. I try to give as much information as I can, just an honest take. Then I like turning it into an exit interview for myself where I can really get good feedback and ideas. It’s fun to get their ideas, things that they might think we can do to be better. I love getting that. That’s another reason why I like doing it individually because I feel like I’m more likely to get that.”